just as the prophet Isaiah had written:

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    and he will prepare your way.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Mal 3:1.

as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 1:2 Mal. 3:1

The Coming Day of Judgment

“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

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“I will send my messenger,(A) who will prepare the way before me.(B) Then suddenly the Lord(C) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,(D) whom you desire,(E) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

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10 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    and he will prepare your way before you.’[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 11:10 Mal 3:1.

10 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,(A)
    who will prepare your way before you.’[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 11:10 Mal. 3:1

76 “And you, my little son,
    will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

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76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet(A) of the Most High;(B)
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,(C)

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15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[a] 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,[b] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1:15 Or even from birth.
  2. 1:17 See Mal 4:5-6.

15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,(A) and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit(B) even before he is born.(C) 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord,(D) in the spirit and power of Elijah,(E) to turn the hearts of the parents to their children(F) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(G)

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27 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    and he will prepare your way before you.’[a]

28 I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

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Footnotes

  1. 7:27 Mal 3:1.

27 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’[a](A)

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God(B) is greater than he.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:27 Mal. 3:1

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.[a] The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
    Clear the road for him!’”[b]

John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize,[c] he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize with[d] water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.[e]

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Footnotes

  1. 3:2 Or has come, or is coming soon.
  2. 3:3 Isa 40:3 (Greek version).
  3. 3:7 Or coming to be baptized.
  4. 3:11a Or in.
  5. 3:11b Or in the Holy Spirit and in fire.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)

In those days John the Baptist(B) came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(C) has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”[a](D)

John’s(E) clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.(F) His food was locusts(G) and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized(H) by him in the Jordan River.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers!(I) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(J) Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.(K) And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(L) I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(M)

11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance.(N) But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit(O) and fire.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3
  2. Matthew 3:11 Or in
  3. Matthew 3:11 Or in

70 just as he promised
    through his holy prophets long ago.

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70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),(A)

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Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,

‘God will strike[a] the Shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

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Footnotes

  1. 26:31 Greek I will strike. Zech 13:7.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(A)

31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me,(B) for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 26:31 Zech. 13:7

Then I said, “Look, I have come.
    As is written about me in the Scriptures:

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Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
    it is written about me in the scroll.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 40:7 Or come / with the scroll written for me

Jesus Again Predicts His Death

31 Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true.

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Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time(A)

31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem,(B) and everything that is written by the prophets(C) about the Son of Man(D) will be fulfilled.

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Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
    Clear the road for him!
The valleys will be filled,
    and the mountains and hills made level.
The curves will be straightened,
    and the rough places made smooth.
And then all people will see
    the salvation sent from God.’”[a]

When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

10 The crowds asked, “What should we do?”

11 John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”

13 He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”

14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers.

John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

15 Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. 16 John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with[b] water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. 3:4-6 Isa 40:3-5 (Greek version).
  2. 3:16a Or in.
  3. 3:16b Or in the Holy Spirit and in fire.

during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,(A) the word of God came to John(B) son of Zechariah(C) in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.(D) As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’”[a](E)

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!(F) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(G) Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(H) For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(I)

10 “What should we do then?”(J) the crowd asked.

11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”(K)

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized.(L) “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,”(M) he told them.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely(N)—be content with your pay.”

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John(O) might possibly be the Messiah.(P) 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[b] water.(Q) But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire.(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 3:6 Isaiah 40:3-5
  2. Luke 3:16 Or in
  3. Luke 3:16 Or in

24 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

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24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.(A) But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

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