Matthew 3:1
English Standard Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
3 (A)In those days (B)John the Baptist came preaching in (C)the wilderness of Judea,
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Isaiah 40:3-6
English Standard Version
3 (A)A voice cries:[a]
(B)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
(C)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 (D)Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 (E)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
(F)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Stands Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said,[b] “What shall I cry?”
(G)All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty[c] is like the flower of the field.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one crying
- Isaiah 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says
- Isaiah 40:6 Or all its constancy
Luke 1:76
English Standard Version
76 And you, child, will be called (A)the prophet of (B)the Most High;
for (C)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
Luke 3:1-20
English Standard Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of (A)Tiberius Caesar, (B)Pontius Pilate (C)being governor of Judea, and (D)Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during (E)the high priesthood of Annas and (F)Caiaphas, (G)the word of God came to (H)John the son of Zechariah in (I)the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming (J)a baptism of repentance (K)for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in (L)the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
(M)“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
(N)‘Prepare the way of the Lord,[a]
make his paths straight.
5 (O)Every valley shall be filled,
(P)and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
(Q)and the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 (R)and all flesh shall see (S)the salvation of God.’”
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, (T)“You brood of (U)vipers! Who warned you to flee from (V)the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits (W)in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, (X)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from (Y)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. (Z)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds asked him, (AA)“What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, (AB)“Whoever has two tunics[b] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 (AC)Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, (AD)what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, (AE)“Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, (AF)what shall we do?” And he said to them, (AG)“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your (AH)wages.”
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, (AI)whether he might be (AJ)the Christ, 16 (AK)John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but (AL)he who is mightier than I is coming, (AM)the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you (AN)with the Holy Spirit and (AO)fire. 17 His (AP)winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to (AQ)gather the wheat into his barn, (AR)but the chaff he will burn with (AS)unquenchable fire.”
18 So (AT)with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But (AU)Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that (AV)he locked up John in prison.
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Matthew 11:11
English Standard Version
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
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Luke 1:13-17
English Standard Version
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for (A)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and (B)you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will (C)rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be (D)great before the Lord. And (E)he must not drink wine or strong (F)drink, and (G)he will be (H)filled with the Holy Spirit, (I)even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and (J)he will go before him (K)in the spirit and power of Elijah, (L)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and (M)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, (N)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
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Matthew 16:14
English Standard Version
14 And they said, “Some say (A)John the Baptist, others say (B)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
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Acts 19:3-4
English Standard Version
3 And he said, (A)“Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into (B)John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, (C)“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people (D)to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
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Acts 13:24-25
English Standard Version
24 Before his coming, (A)John had proclaimed (B)a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, (C)he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
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Acts 1:22
English Standard Version
22 (A)beginning from the baptism of John until the day when (B)he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us (C)a witness to his resurrection.”
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Luke 7:24
English Standard Version
24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus[a] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out (A)into the wilderness to see? (B)A reed shaken by the wind?
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- Luke 7:24 Greek he
Mark 6:16-29
English Standard Version
16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 (A)For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and (B)bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. 18 (C)For John had been saying to Herod, (D)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod (E)feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he (F)heard him gladly.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod (G)on his birthday (H)gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, (I)up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's[a] head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his (J)disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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- Mark 6:27 Greek his
Mark 1:3-8
English Standard Version
3 (A)the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
(B)‘Prepare[a] the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 (C)John appeared, baptizing in (D)the wilderness and proclaiming (E)a baptism of (F)repentance (G)for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, (H)confessing their sins. 6 Now John was (I)clothed with camel's hair and (J)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate (K)locusts and (L)wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, (M)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 (N)I have baptized you with water, but (O)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
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- Mark 1:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness
Matthew 21:25-27
English Standard Version
25 The baptism of John, (A)from where did it come? (B)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, (C)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ (D)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was (E)a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
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Matthew 17:12-13
English Standard Version
12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but (A)did to him whatever they pleased. (B)So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 (C)Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
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Matthew 14:2-14
English Standard Version
2 and he said to his servants, (A)“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For (B)Herod had seized John and bound him and (C)put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,[a] 4 because John had been saying to him, (D)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, (E)he feared the people, because they held him to be (F)a prophet. 6 But when Herod's (G)birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And (H)his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, (I)he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he (J)saw a great crowd, and (K)he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
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- Matthew 14:3 Some manuscripts his brother's wife
Matthew 11:7
English Standard Version
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out (A)into the wilderness to see? (B)A reed shaken by the wind?
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Matthew 3:8
English Standard Version
8 Bear fruit (A)in keeping with repentance.
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John 3:27-36
English Standard Version
27 John answered, (A)“A person cannot receive even one thing (B)unless it is given him (C)from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (D)‘I am not the Christ, but (E)I have been sent before him.’ 29 (F)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. (G)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, (H)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 (I)He must increase, but I must decrease.”[a]
31 (J)He who comes from above (K)is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and (L)speaks in an earthly way. (M)He who comes from heaven (N)is above all. 32 (O)He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, (P)yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony (Q)sets his seal to this, (R)that God is true. 34 For he whom (S)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit (T)without measure. 35 (U)The Father loves the Son and (V)has given all things into his hand. 36 (W)Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; (X)whoever does not obey the Son shall not (Y)see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
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John 1:15-36
English Standard Version
15 ((A)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, (B)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from (C)his fullness we have all received, (D)grace upon grace.[a] 17 For (E)the law was given through Moses; (F)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (G)No one has ever seen God; (H)the only God,[b] who is at the Father's side,[c] (I)he has made him known.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the (J)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, (K)“Who are you?” 20 (L)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? (M)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you (N)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (O)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight[d] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, (P)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, (Q)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even (R)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Behold, the Lamb of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, (S)the Lamb of God, who (T)takes away the sin (U)of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, (V)‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but (W)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John (X)bore witness: (Y)“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and (Z)it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but (AA)he who sent me to baptize (AB)with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, (AC)this is he who baptizes (AD)with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son[e] of God.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, (AE)the Lamb of God!”
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Matthew 21:32
English Standard Version
32 For John came to you (A)in the way of righteousness, and (B)you did not believe him, but (C)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward (D)change your minds and believe him.
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Judges 1:16
English Standard Version
16 And the descendants of the (A)Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah (B)from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near (C)Arad, (D)and they went and settled with the people.
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Joshua 15:61-62
English Standard Version
61 In the wilderness, (A)Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and (B)Engedi: six cities with their villages.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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