Matthew 3:1-12 - John The Baptist Begins His Ministry

¹ In those days John the Baptist came on the scene, preaching in the desert of Judaea, ² "Repent, the Reign of heaven is near." ³ (This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.')

⁴ This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and the whole of Judaea and all the Jordan-district went out to him ⁶ and got baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he noticed a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath? ⁸ Now, produce fruit that answers to your repentance, ⁹ instead of presuming to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁰ The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing-fan is in his hand, he will clean out his threshing-floor, his wheat he will gather into the granary, but the straw he will burn with fire unquenchable."

¹ THE beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God]. ² As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, Here I send my messenger before your face to prepare the way for you: ³ the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him' ??4 John appeared baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; ⁵ and the whole of Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and got baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was dressed in camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He announced, "After me one who is mightier will come, and I am not fit to stoop and untie the string of his sandals: ⁸ I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit."

¹ Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, Philip his brother tetrarch of the country of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysias tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert; ³ and he went into all the Jordan-district preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ??4 as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah, The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him. ⁵ Every valley shall be filled up, every hill and mound laid low, the crooked made straight, the rough roads smooth; ⁶ so shall all flesh see the saving power of God.'

⁷ To the crowds who came out to get baptized by him John said, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath? ⁸ Now, produce fruits that answer to your repentance, instead of beginning to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ⁹ The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

¹⁰ The crowds asked him, "Then what are we to do?"

¹¹ He replied, "Let everyone who possesses two shirts share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise."

¹² Taxgatherers also came to get baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what are we to do?"

¹³ He said to them, "Never exact more than your fixed rate."

¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, "And what are we to do?" He said to them, "Never extort money, never lay a false charge, but be content with your pay."

¹⁵ Now as people's expectations were roused and as everybody thought to himself about John, "Can he be the Christ," ¹⁶ John said to them all, "I baptize you with water, but after me one who is mightier will come, and I am not fit to untie the string of his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing-fan is in his hand to purge his threshing-floor, to gather the wheat into his granary and burn the straw with fire unquenchable." ¹⁸ Thus with many another appeal he spoke his message to the people. ¹⁹ But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias his brother's wife as well as for all the wickedness that he, Herod, had committed, ²⁰ crowned all by shutting John up in prison.