Matthew 3
Legacy Standard Bible
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,
“(G)The voice of one [f]crying in the wilderness,
‘(H)Make ready the way of the [g]Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
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.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 (AC)Then Jesus *arrived (AD)from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us (AE)to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. 16 And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and [i](AF)he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him, 17 and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “(AG)This is [j]My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:1 Gr Joannes, Heb Johanan; so in Matt
- Matthew 3:1 Or arrived, appeared
- Matthew 3:1 Or proclaiming as a herald
- Matthew 3:2 Lit has come near
- Matthew 3:3 Or through
- Matthew 3:3 Or shouting
- Matthew 3:3 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 40:3
- Matthew 3:4 Lit his garment
- Matthew 3:16 Or He
- Matthew 3:17 Or My Son, the Beloved
Matthew 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Messiah’s Herald
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!(D)[a]
4 John himself 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 flocking to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.(E)
7 When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees(F) coming to the place of his baptism,[b] he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(G) 8 Therefore produce fruit(H) consistent with[c] 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 Even now the ax is ready to strike 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[d] water for repentance,[e](K) but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove[f] His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with[g] the Holy Spirit and fire.(L) 12 His winnowing shovel[h] is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up 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 he allowed Him to be baptized.
16 After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens(O) suddenly opened for Him,[i] and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him.(P) 17 And there came a voice from heaven:
This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him!(Q)
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:3 Is 40:3
- Matthew 3:7 Lit to his baptism
- Matthew 3:8 Lit fruit worthy of
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
- Matthew 3:11 Baptism was the means by which repentance was expressed publicly.
- Matthew 3:11 Or to carry
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
- Matthew 3:12 A wooden farm implement used to toss threshed grain into the wind so the lighter chaff would blow away and separate from the heavier grain
- Matthew 3:16 Other mss omit for Him
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