John the Baptist Prepares the Way

(A)In those days (B)John the Baptist came preaching in (C)the wilderness of Judea, (D)“Repent, for (E)the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a] 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.’”

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. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, (K)confessing their sins.

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? Bear fruit (Q)in keeping with repentance. 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.”

The Temptation of Jesus

(AK)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (AL)to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting (AM)forty days and forty nights, he (AN)was hungry. And (AO)the tempter came and said to him, “If you are (AP)the Son of God, command (AQ)these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, (AR)“It is written,

(AS)“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

(AT)Then the devil took him to (AU)the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

(AV)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again (AW)it is written, (AX)‘You shall not (AY)put the Lord your God to the test.’” (AZ)Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, (BA)Satan! For (BB)it is written,

(BC)“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
    and (BD)him only shall you serve.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, (BE)angels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

12 Now when he heard that (BF)John had been arrested, (BG)he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving (BH)Nazareth he went and lived in (BI)Capernaum by (BJ)the sea, in the territory of (BK)Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 (BL)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 (BM)“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 (BN)the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and (BO)shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

17 (BP)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, (BQ)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[e]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

18 (BR)While walking by (BS)the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you (BT)fishers of men.”[f] 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

23 (BU)And he went throughout all Galilee, (BV)teaching in their synagogues and (BW)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and (BX)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all (BY)Syria, and (BZ)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and (CA)pains, (CB)those oppressed by demons, (CC)those having seizures, and (CD)paralytics, and he healed them. 25 (CE)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the (CF)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 3:2 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near
  2. Matthew 3:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness
  3. Matthew 3:16 Some manuscripts omit to him
  4. Matthew 3:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
  5. Matthew 4:17 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near
  6. Matthew 4:19 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they (A)came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from (B)Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before (C)the mountain, while (D)Moses went up to God. (E)The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: (F)‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how (G)I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be (H)my treasured possession among all peoples, for (I)all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a (J)kingdom of priests and (K)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. (L)All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you (M)in a thick cloud, that (N)the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also (O)believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and (P)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them (Q)wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day (R)the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. (S)Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;[a] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When (T)the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses (U)went down from the mountain to the people and (V)consecrated the people; (W)and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the (X)third day; (Y)do not go near a woman.”

16 On the morning of the (Z)third day there were (AA)thunders and lightnings and (AB)a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud (AC)trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp (AD)trembled. 17 Then (AE)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now (AF)Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and (AG)the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the (AH)sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and (AI)God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord (AJ)to look and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near to the Lord (AK)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord (AL)break out against them.” 23 And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, (AM)‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people (AN)break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 (AO)And (AP)God spoke all these words, saying,

(AQ)“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

(AR)“You shall have no other gods before[b] me.

(AS)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (AT)You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am (AU)a jealous God, (AV)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands[c] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

(AW)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

(AX)“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (AY)Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the (AZ)seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the (BA)sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For (BB)in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 (BC)“Honor your father and your mother, (BD)that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 (BE)“You shall not murder.[d]

14 (BF)“You shall not commit adultery.

15 (BG)“You shall not steal.

16 (BH)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 (BI)“You shall not covet (BJ)your neighbor's house; (BK)you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

18 Now when all the people saw (BL)the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid[e] and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, (BM)“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 (BN)Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to (BO)test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the (BP)thick darkness where God was.

Laws About Altars

22 And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have (BQ)talked with you from heaven. 23 (BR)You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. (BS)In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and (BT)bless you. 25 (BU)If you make me an altar of stone, (BV)you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 19:13 That is, shot with an arrow
  2. Exodus 20:3 Or besides
  3. Exodus 20:6 Or to the thousandth generation
  4. Exodus 20:13 The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
  5. Exodus 20:18 Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text the people saw

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

(A)Why do (B)the nations rage[a]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his (C)Anointed, saying,
“Let us (D)burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

He who (E)sits in the heavens (F)laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his (G)wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have (H)set my King
    on (I)Zion, my (J)holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, (K)“You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and (L)the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall (M)break[b] them with (N)a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like (O)a potter's vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 (P)Serve the Lord with (Q)fear,
    and (R)rejoice with (S)trembling.
12 (T)Kiss (U)the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his (V)wrath is quickly kindled.
(W)Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
  2. Psalm 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule

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