John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,^[a] the Son of God,^{[b](B) 2} as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁷ And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.^{(A) 8} I baptize you with^[a] water, but he will baptize you with^[b] the Holy Spirit.”^(B)