Matthew 3
King James Version
3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
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
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