John the Baptist Begins His Ministry

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.^{[a] 2} Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

⁴ John was there baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming^[c] a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the Judean region and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ And John was dressed in camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was preaching, saying, “One who is more powerful than I is coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to bend down and^[d] untie the strap of his sandals. ⁸ I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”