Book of Common Prayer

^10a especially those who follow after the pollution of fleshly lust and despise authority.

From bad to worse

^10b Such people are arrogant and self-willed! They are not afraid to blaspheme the glorious ones, ¹¹ whereas the angels, stronger and more powerful though they are, do not bring a charge of blasphemy against them before the Lord.

¹² These people are like unreasoning beasts, by nature born to be caught and destroyed. They curse at things of which they have no knowledge; they are destroyed by their own self-destructive tendencies. ¹³ They commit injustice, and receive injustice as their reward. They count it pleasure to hold wild revels in the daytime. If they join you for a meal, they pollute and stain the whole thing as they wallow in their disgusting pleasures. ¹⁴ Their eyes are full of adultery; they can’t get enough of sin; when they find unsteady souls, they lead them astray; their hearts have been trained in greed; they are children of the curse. ¹⁵ They have left the straight path and have wandered off in pursuit of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the reward of unrighteousness, ¹⁶ and was rebuked for his disobedience when a normally speechless donkey spoke in a human voice to stop the prophet’s madness in its tracks.

The preaching of John the Baptist

3 In those days John the Baptist appeared. He was preaching in the Judaean wilderness.

² “Repent!” he was saying. “The kingdom of heaven is coming!”

³ John, you see, is the person spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, when he said,

⁴ John himself had clothing made from camel’s hair, and a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Jerusalem, all Judaea, and the whole area around the Jordan, were going off to him. ⁶ They were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ He saw several Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized by him.

“You brood of vipers!” he said to them. “Who warned you to escape from the coming wrath? ⁸ You’d better prove your repentance by bearing the right sort of fruit! ⁹ And you needn’t start thinking to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ Let me tell you, God is quite capable of raising up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁰ The axe is already taking aim at the root of the trees. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Jesus’ baptism

¹¹ “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,” John continued. “But the one who is coming behind me is more powerful than me! I’m not even worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy spirit and fire! ¹² He’s got his shovel in his hand, ready to clear out his barn, and gather all his corn into the granary. But he’ll burn up the chaff with a fire that will never go out.”