Matthew 3
Christian Standard Bible
The Herald of the Messiah
3 In those days John the Baptist came,(A) preaching in the wilderness of Judea(B) 2 and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (C) 3 For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight
4 Now John had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.(E)
7 When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees(F) coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(G) 8 Therefore produce fruit(H) consistent with[b] repentance. 9 And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(I) For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(J)
11 “I baptize you with[c] water for repentance,(K) but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove[d] his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.(L) 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”(M)
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.(N) 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
15 Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized.
16 When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens(O) suddenly opened for him,[e] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.(P) 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”(Q)
Matthew 3
International Standard Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)
3 About this time,[a] John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness, 2 “Repent, because the kingdom from[b] heaven is near!” 3 He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said,
“He is a voice calling out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord![c]
Make his paths straight!’”[d]
4 John had clothing made of camel’s hair and wore[e] a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers[f] and wild honey.
5 Then the people of[g] Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him, 6 being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins.
7 But when John[h] saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing,[i] he told them, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! 9 Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have father Abraham!’ because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! 10 The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree that isn’t producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I am baptizing you with[j] water as evidence of repentance,[k] but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with[l] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire.”
Jesus is Baptized(B)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness.”[m]
At this, he permitted him to be baptized.[n] 16 When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. 17 Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!”
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:1 Lit. In those days
- Matthew 3:2 Lit. of
- Matthew 3:3 MT and DSS source citations read Lord
- Matthew 3:3 Cf. Isa 40:3
- Matthew 3:4 The Gk. lacks wore
- Matthew 3:4 Or locust-shaped carob seed pods
- Matthew 3:5 The Gk. lacks the people of
- Matthew 3:7 Lit. he
- Matthew 3:7 Lit. to his baptism
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
- Matthew 3:11 Lit. for repentance
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
- Matthew 3:15 Cf. Dan 9:24
- Matthew 3:15 The Gk. lacks to be baptized
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
