Bible in 90 Days
Israel’s Shepherds: Good and Bad
11 Open your gates, Lebanon,
and fire will consume your cedars.(A)
2 Wail, cypress,(B) for the cedar has fallen;
the glorious trees are destroyed!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,(C)
for the stately forest has fallen!
3 Listen to the wail(D) of the shepherds,(E)
for their glory is destroyed.
Listen to the roar of young lions,(F)
for the thickets of the Jordan(G) are[a] destroyed.
4 The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished.(H) Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord because I have become rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.”(I)
7 So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the oppressed of the flock.[b] I took two staffs, calling one Favor(J) and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is perishing perish; let the rest devour each other’s flesh.” 10 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples. 11 It was annulled on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock[c] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.(K)
13 “Throw it to the potter,”[d] the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.[e](L) 14 Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 The Lord also said to me, “Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, and he will not seek the lost[f] or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy,[g] but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep(M) and tear off their hooves.
17 Woe to the worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock!(N)
May a sword strike[h] his arm
and his right eye!
May his arm wither away
and his right eye go completely blind!”
Judah’s Security
12 A pronouncement:
The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
A declaration of the Lord,
who stretched out the heavens,(O)
laid the foundation of the earth,(P)
and formed the spirit of man within him.
2 “Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering(Q) for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah.(R) 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her.(S) 4 On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness.(T) I will keep a watchful eye on(U) the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. 5 Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Armies, their God. 6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile,(V) like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem,(W) so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord, before them.(X) 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 “Then I will pour out a spirit[i](Y) of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at[j] me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.(Z) 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s[k](AA) house by itself and their women by themselves; 13 the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei[l](AB) by itself and their women by themselves; 14 all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.
God’s People Cleansed
13 “On that day a fountain(AC) will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.(AD) 2 On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered.(AE) I will banish the prophets[m] and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You cannot remain alive because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.’ When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.(AF) 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak(AG) in order to deceive. 5 He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased[n] me as a servant since my youth.’(AH) 6 If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds(AI) on your chest?’[o]—then he will answer, ‘I received the wounds in the house of my friends.’
7 Sword, awake against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate—
this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;(AJ)
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
two-thirds[p] will be cut off and die,
but a third will be left in it.
9 I will put this third through the fire;
I will refine them as silver is refined
and test them as gold is tested.(AK)
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.(AL)
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”(AM)
The Lord’s Triumph and Reign
14 Look, a day belonging to the Lord is coming(AN) when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your presence. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle.(AO) The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
3 Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle.(AP) 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(AQ) which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley,[q] for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled[r] from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah.(AR) Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones(AS) with him.[s](AT)
6 On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish.[t][u](AU) 7 It will be a unique day known only to the Lord,(AV) without day or night, but there will be light at evening.
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem,(AW) half of it toward the eastern sea[v] and the other half toward the western sea,[w] in summer and winter alike. 9 On that day the Lord will become King over the whole earth(AX)—the Lord alone, and his name alone.(AY) 10 All the land from Geba(AZ) to Rimmon(BA) south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain[x] on its site from the Benjamin Gate(BB) to the place of the First Gate,[y] to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.(BC) 11 People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.
12 This will be the plague with which the Lord strikes all the people who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day a great panic from the Lord will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other. 14 Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.(BD) 15 The same plague as the previous one will strike[z] the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.
16 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.(BE) 17 Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Armies, rain will not fall on them. 18 And if the people[aa] of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the Lord inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
20 On that day, the words Holy to the Lord will be on the bells of the horses.(BF) The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Armies. All who sacrifice will come and use the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[ab] in the house of the Lord of Armies.
The Lord’s Love for Israel
1 A pronouncement:(BG)
The word of the Lord(BH) to Israel through(BI) Malachi.[ac]
2 “I have loved you,”(BJ) says the Lord.
Yet you ask, “How have you loved us?”
“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” (BK) This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, 3 but I hated Esau.(BL) I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.”(BM)
4 Though Edom says, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild[ad] the ruins,” the Lord of Armies says this: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country(BN) and the people the Lord has cursed[ae] forever.(BO) 5 Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say, ‘The Lord is great, even beyond[af] the borders of Israel.’(BP)
Disobedience of the Priests
6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of me?(BQ) says the Lord of Armies to you priests, who despise my name.”
Yet you ask, “How have we despised your name?”
7 “By presenting defiled food on my altar.”
“How have we defiled you?” you ask.(BR)
When you say, “The Lord’s table is contemptible.”(BS)
8 “When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong?(BT) Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord of Armies. 9 “And now plead for God’s favor. Will he be gracious to us?(BU) Since this has come from your hands, will he show any of you favor?” (BV) asks the Lord of Armies. 10 “I wish one of you would shut the temple doors,(BW) so that you would no longer kindle a useless fire on my altar!(BX) I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Armies, “and I will accept(BY) no offering from your hands.(BZ)
11 “My name will be great among the nations,(CA) from the rising of the sun to its setting. Incense[ag] and pure offerings will be presented in my name in every place because my name will be great among the nations,”[ah] says the Lord of Armies.
12 “But you are profaning it(CB) when you say, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled, and its product, its food, is contemptible.’ 13 You also say, ‘Look, what a nuisance!’ And you scorn[ai] it,”[aj](CC) says the Lord of Armies. “You bring stolen,[ak](CD) lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands?” asks the Lord.
14 “The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord.(CE) For I am a great King,” says the Lord of Armies, “and my name will be feared among the nations.
Warning to the Priests
2 “Therefore, this decree(CF) is for you priests: 2 If you don’t listen, and if you don’t take it to heart(CG) to honor my name,” says the Lord of Armies, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings.(CH) In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.
3 “Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants,(CI) and I will spread animal waste[al] over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices,(CJ) and you will be taken away with it. 4 Then you will know that I sent you this decree, so that my covenant with Levi(CK) may continue,” says the Lord of Armies. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace,(CL) and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.(CM) 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me(CN) in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.(CO) 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Armies.(CP)
8 “You, on the other hand, have turned from the way.(CQ) You have caused many to stumble(CR) by your instruction. You have violated[am] the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of Armies. 9 “So I in turn have made you despised(CS) and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping my ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.”(CT)
Judah’s Marital Unfaithfulness
10 Don’t all of us have one Father?(CU) Didn’t one God create us?(CV) Why then do we act treacherously against one another,(CW) profaning(CX) the covenant of our ancestors?(CY) 11 Judah has acted treacherously, and a detestable(CZ) act has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned(DA) the Lord’s sanctuary,[an](DB) which he loves,(DC) and has married the daughter of a foreign god.[ao](DD) 12 May the Lord cut off(DE) from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, whoever he may be,[ap](DF) even if he presents an offering to the Lord of Armies.
13 This is another thing you do. You are covering the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning,(DG) because he no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.(DH)
14 And you ask, “Why?” Because even though the Lord has been a witness(DI) between you and the wife of your youth,(DJ) you have acted treacherously against her. She was your marriage partner(DK) and your wife by covenant.(DL) 15 Didn’t God make them one and give them a portion of spirit? What is the one seeking?[aq] Godly offspring. So watch yourselves carefully,[ar](DM) so that no one acts treacherously against the wife of his[as] youth.
16 “If he hates(DN) and divorces his wife,”(DO) says the Lord God of Israel, “he[at] covers his garment with injustice,”(DP) says the Lord of Armies. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully,[au] and do not act treacherously.
Judgment at the Lord’s Coming
17 You have wearied the Lord(DQ) with your words.
Yet you ask, “How have we wearied him?”
When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and he is delighted with them,(DR) or else where is the God of justice?” (DS)
3 “See, I am going to send my messenger,(DT) and he will clear the way before me.(DU) Then the Lord you seek(DV) will suddenly come to his temple,(DW) the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears?(DX) For he will be like a refiner’s fire(DY) and like launderer’s bleach.[av](DZ) 3 He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.(EA) Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. 4 And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old(EB) and years gone by.
5 “I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien.(EC) They do not fear me,”(ED) says the Lord of Armies. 6 “Because I, the Lord, have not changed,(EE) you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.[aw](EF)
Robbing God
7 “Since the days of your ancestors, you have turned from my statutes; you have not kept them.(EG) Return to me,(EH) and I will return to you,”(EI) says the Lord of Armies.
Yet you ask, “How can we return?”
8 “Will a man rob(EJ) God? Yet you are robbing me!”
“How do we rob you?” you ask.
“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.(EK) 9 You are suffering under a curse, yet[ax] you—the whole nation—are still robbing me. 10 Bring the full tenth into the storehouse(EL) so that there may be food in my house.(EM) Test me in this way,”(EN) says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven(EO) and pour out a blessing for you without measure.(EP) 11 I will rebuke the devourer[ay](EQ) for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Armies. 12 “Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Armies.
The Righteous and the Wicked
13 “Your words against me are harsh,”(ER) says the Lord.
Yet you ask, “What have we spoken against you?”
14 You have said, “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping his requirements(ES) and walking mournfully(ET) before the Lord of Armies? 15 So now we consider the arrogant(EU) to be fortunate.(EV) Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God(EW) and escape.”(EX)
16 At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance(EY) was written before him for those who feared the Lord and had high regard for his name. 17 “They will be mine,” says the Lord of Armies,(EZ) “my own possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.(FA) 18 So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
The Day of the Lord
4 “For look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings,(FB) and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.[az] 3 You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Armies.
A Final Warning
4 “Remember the instruction of Moses my servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb(FC) for all Israel. 5 Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah(FD) before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.(FE) 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.(FF) Otherwise, I will come and strike the land[ba] with a curse.”
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 An(FG) account(FH) of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,(FI) the Son of Abraham:(FJ)
From Abraham to David
2 Abraham fathered[bb] Isaac,
Isaac fathered Jacob,
Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,(FK)
3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
Perez fathered Hezron,
Hezron fathered Aram,(FL)
4 Aram fathered Amminadab,
Amminadab fathered Nahshon,
Nahshon fathered Salmon,
5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab,
Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,
Obed fathered Jesse,(FM)
6 and Jesse fathered King David.
From David to the Babylonian Exile
David fathered Solomon[bc] by Uriah’s wife,(FN)
7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam,
Rehoboam fathered Abijah,
Abijah fathered Asa,[bd]
8 Asa[be] fathered Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat fathered Joram,[bf]
Joram fathered Uzziah,(FO)
9 Uzziah fathered Jotham,
Jotham fathered Ahaz,
Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh,
Manasseh fathered Amon,[bg]
Amon fathered Josiah,(FP)
11 and Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers
at the time of the exile to Babylon.(FQ)
From the Exile to the Messiah
12 After the exile to Babylon
Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel,
Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel fathered Abiud,
Abiud fathered Eliakim,
Eliakim fathered Azor,(FR)
14 Azor fathered Zadok,
Zadok fathered Achim,
Achim fathered Eliud,
15 Eliud fathered Eleazar,
Eleazar fathered Matthan,
Matthan fathered Jacob,
16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary,
who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah.(FS)
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, fourteen generations.(FT)
The Nativity of the Messiah
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged[bh] to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.(FU) 19 So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man,(FV) and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.(FW)
20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.(FX) 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus,(FY) because he will save his people from their sins.”(FZ)
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will name him Immanuel,[bi]
which is translated “God is with us.”(GA)
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her(GB) 25 but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son.[bj] And he named him Jesus.(GC)
Wise Men Visit the King
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,(GD) 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?(GE) For we saw his star at its rising(GF) and have come to worship him.”[bk]
3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes(GG) of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:
Because out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”[bl](GH)
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”[bm](GI)
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him.[bn] Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.(GJ) 12 And being warned(GK) in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
The Flight into Egypt
13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.”(GL) 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.[bo](GM)
The Massacre of the Innocents
16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.(GN) 17 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping,[bp] and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
and she refused to be consoled,
because they are no more.[bq](GO)
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,(GP) 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.” 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.(GQ) 23 Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(GR)
The Herald of the Messiah
3 In those days John the Baptist came,(GS) preaching in the wilderness of Judea(GT) 2 and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (GU) 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.(GW)
7 When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees(GX) coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(GY) 8 Therefore produce fruit(GZ) consistent with[bs] repentance. 9 And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(HA) 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.(HB)
11 “I baptize you with[bt] water for repentance,(HC) but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove[bu] his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.(HD) 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.”(HE)
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.(HF) 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(HG) suddenly opened for him,[bv] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.(HH) 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”(HI)
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then(HJ) Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.(HK) 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights,(HL) he was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”(HM)
4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”[bw](HN)
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,(HO) 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will give his angels(HP) orders concerning you,
and they will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”[bx](HQ)
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”[by](HR)
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”[bz]
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away,[ca] Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”[cb](HS)
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.(HT)
Ministry in Galilee
12 When he heard that John had been arrested,(HU) he withdrew into Galilee.(HV) 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum(HW) by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
along the road by the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles.
16 The people who live in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those living in the land of the shadow of death,
a light has dawned.[cc][cd] (HX)
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven(HY) has come near.”
The First Disciples
18 As(HZ) he was walking along the Sea of Galilee,(IA) he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for[ce] people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, preparing their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Teaching, Preaching, and Healing
23 Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee,(IB) teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every[cf] disease and sickness[cg] among the people.(IC) 24 Then the news about him spread throughout Syria.(ID) So they brought to him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytics.(IE) And he healed them. 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.(IF)
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