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
Matthew 3
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, 2 (D)“Repent, for (E)the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a] 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
(F)“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
(G)‘Prepare[b] the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore (H)a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was (I)locusts and (J)wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, (K)confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of (L)the Pharisees and (M)Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, (N)“You brood of (O)vipers! Who warned you to flee from (P)the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit (Q)in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, (R)‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from (S)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. (T)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 (U)“I baptize you with water (V)for repentance, but (W)he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you (X)with the Holy Spirit and (Y)fire. 12 His (Z)winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and (AA)gather his wheat into the barn, (AB)but the chaff he will burn with (AC)unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 (AD)Then Jesus came (AE)from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 (AF)John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, (AG)the heavens were opened to him,[c] and he (AH)saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, (AI)a voice from heaven said, (AJ)“This is my beloved Son,[d] with whom I am well pleased.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:2 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near
- Matthew 3:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness
- Matthew 3:16 Some manuscripts omit to him
- Matthew 3:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
Mateo 3
Traducción en lenguaje actual
Juan el Bautista
3 Años después, Juan el Bautista salió al desierto de Judea para predicarle a la gente. Les decía: 2 «Vuélvanse a Dios, porque muy pronto su reino se establecerá aquí.»
3 Juan era la persona de quien hablaba el profeta Isaías cuando dijo:
«Alguien grita en el desierto:
“Prepárenle el camino al Señor.
¡Ábranle paso!
¡Que no encuentre estorbos!”»
4 Juan se vestía con ropa hecha de pelo de camello y usaba un taparrabos de cuero. Comía saltamontes y miel silvestre.
5 Muchos iban a oír a Juan. Llegaban no sólo de los alrededores del río Jordán, sino también de la región de Judea y de Jerusalén. 6 Confesaban sus pecados y él los bautizaba en el río. 7 Al ver Juan que muchos fariseos y saduceos venían para que él los bautizara, les dijo:
«¡Ustedes son unas víboras! ¿Creen que se van a escapar del castigo que Dios les enviará? 8 Demuestren con su conducta que han dejado de pecar. 9 No piensen que se salvarán sólo por ser descendientes de Abraham. Si Dios así lo quiere, hasta a estas piedras las puede convertir en familiares de Abraham. 10 Cuando un árbol no produce buenos frutos, su dueño lo corta de raíz y lo quema. Y Dios ya está listo para destruir a los que no hacen lo bueno.
11 »Yo los bautizo a ustedes con agua, para que demuestren a los demás que ustedes ya han cambiado su forma de vivir. Pero hay alguien que viene después de mí, y que es más poderoso que yo. Él los bautizará con el Espíritu Santo y con fuego. ¡Yo ni siquiera merezco ser su esclavo! 12 El que viene después de mí separará a los buenos de los malos. A los buenos los pondrá a salvo, pero a los malos los echará en un fuego que nunca se apaga.»
Juan bautiza a Jesús
13 Jesús salió de Galilea y se fue al río Jordán para que Juan lo bautizara. 14 Pero Juan no quería hacerlo. Así que le dijo:
—Yo no debería bautizarte. ¡Más bien, tú deberías bautizarme a mí!
15 Jesús le respondió:
—Hazlo así por ahora, pues debemos cumplir con lo que Dios manda.
Juan estuvo de acuerdo, 16 y lo bautizó. Cuando Jesús salió del agua, vio que el cielo se abría y que el Espíritu de Dios bajaba sobre él en forma de paloma. 17 Entonces una voz que venía del cielo dijo: «Éste es mi Hijo. Yo lo amo mucho y estoy muy contento con él.»
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