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:

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 Messiah’s Herald

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,^[a] while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,^(A) Herod was tetrarch^[b] of Galilee,^(B) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea^[c] and Trachonitis,^[d] and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,^{[e] 2} during the high priesthood of Annas^(C) and Caiaphas,^(D) God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.^{(E) 3} He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,^(F) preaching a baptism of repentance^[f] for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

⁷ He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!^(H) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying 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! ⁹ Even now the ax is ready to strike^[j] the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^(J)

¹⁰ “What then should we do?”^(K) the crowds were asking him.

¹¹ He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts^[k] must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”^(L)

¹² Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”^(M)

¹³ He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”

¹⁴ Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do?”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds^[l] whether John might be the Messiah.^{(N) 16} John answered them all,^(O) “I baptize you with^[m] water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with^[n] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing shovel^[o](P) is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”^{(Q) 18} Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.