Mark 1:1-8
New Living Translation
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.[a] It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written:
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way.[b]
3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’[c]”
4 This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 5 All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with[d] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”
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Mark 1:1-8
Living Bible
1 Here begins the wonderful story of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
2 In the book written by the prophet Isaiah, God announced that he would send his Son[a] to earth, and that a special messenger would arrive first to prepare the world for his coming.
3 “This messenger will live out in the barren wilderness,” Isaiah said,[b] “and will proclaim that everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord’s arrival.”
4 This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.[c] 5 People from Jerusalem and from all over Judea traveled out into the Judean wastelands to see and hear John, and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; locusts and wild honey were his food. 7 Here is a sample of his preaching:
“Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.[d] 8 I baptize you with water[e] but he will baptize you with God’s Holy Spirit!”
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- Mark 1:2 his Son, implied.
- Mark 1:3 Isaiah said. Some ancient manuscripts read, “the prophets said.” This quotation, unrecorded in the book of Isaiah, appears in Malachi 3:1. be ready for the Lord’s arrival, literally, “make ready the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”
- Mark 1:4 so that God could forgive them, literally, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
- Mark 1:7 so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave, literally, “whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.”
- Mark 1:8 with water, or “in water.” The Greek word is not clear on this controversial point. with God’s Holy Spirit, or “in God’s Holy Spirit”; the Greek is not clear.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.