The Preaching of John the Baptist

3 Now ^(A)in those days ^[a](B)John the Baptist *^[b]came, ^[c]preaching in the ^(C)wilderness of Judea, saying, ² “^(D)Repent, for ^(E)the kingdom of heaven ^[d]is at hand.” ³ For this is the ^(F)one referred to ^[e]by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

⁴ Now John himself had ^[h](I)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^(J)locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem ^(K)was going out to him, and all Judea, and all ^(L)the district around the Jordan; ⁶ and they were being ^(M)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the ^(N)Pharisees and ^(O)Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You ^(P)brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^(Q)the wrath to come? ^8 (R)Therefore bear fruit ^(S)in keeping with repentance; ⁹ and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘^(T)We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ And the ^(U)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore ^(V)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “As for me, ^(W)I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^(X)He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His ^(Y)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^(Z)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^(AA)chaff with ^(AB)unquenchable fire.”

^4 [b]John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness ^[c](B)preaching a baptism of repentance for the ^(C)forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the region of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ And John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore ^(D)a leather belt around his waist and was eating locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was ^[d]preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals. ⁸ I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

² during the high priesthood of ^(A)Annas and ^(B)Caiaphas, ^(C)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all ^(D)the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^(I)You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^(J)do not begin to say ^[d]to yourselves, ‘^(K)We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹ But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(L)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^(M)Then what should we do?” ¹¹ And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two ^[e]tunics is to ^(N)share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” ¹² And ^(O)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “^[f]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” ¹⁴ And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^(P)extort anyone, and ^(Q)be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John, ^(R)as to whether he was the ^[g]Christ, ^16 (S)John answered, saying to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His ^(T)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with ^(U)unquenchable fire.”

The Witness of John the Baptist

⁶ There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was ^[a](A)John. ^7 [b]He came ^[c](B)as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, ^(C)so that all might believe through him. ^8 [d](D)He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.

A Voice in the Wilderness

¹⁹ And this is ^(A)the witness of John, when ^(B)the ^[a]Jews sent to him priests and Levites ^(C)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “^(D)I am not the ^[b]Christ.” ²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you ^(E)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(F)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am ^(G)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the ^[c]Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ^[d]Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^(H)the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, saying, “^(I)I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ This One is ^(J)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the ^(K)strap of His sandal.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany ^(L)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.