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
Good News Translation
The Preaching of John the Baptist(A)
3 At that time John the Baptist came to the desert of Judea and started preaching. 2 (B)“Turn away from your sins,” he said, “because the Kingdom of heaven is near!” 3 (C)John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said,
“Someone is shouting in the desert,
‘Prepare a road for the Lord;
make a straight path for him to travel!’”
4 (D)John's clothes were made of camel's hair; he wore a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People came to him from Jerusalem, from the whole province of Judea, and from all over the country near the Jordan River. 6 They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan.
7 (E)When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You snakes—who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? 8 Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. 9 (F)And don't think you can escape punishment by saying that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham! 10 (G)The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire. 11 I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the one who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. 12 (H)He has his winnowing shovel with him to thresh out all the grain. He will gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”
The Baptism of Jesus(I)
13 At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to make him change his mind. “I ought to be baptized by you,” John said, “and yet you have come to me!”
15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.” So John agreed.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting on him. 17 (J)Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.”
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.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
