In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

This John it was of whom it was said through Isaiah, the prophet, The voice of one who cries aloud in the desert, "Prepare a way for the Lord, Make the paths straight for him."

And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

So Jesus replied to him, "Let it happen now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John yielded to him.

After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus),

Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

Philip, Bartholomew [i.e., the same as Nathaniel. See John 1:45], Thomas [i.e., the same as Didymus. See John 11:16], Matthew, the tax collector [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14], James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus [i.e., the same as Judas, son of James. See Luke 6:16],

But whoever disowns me in front of people [i.e., denies that I am the Christ, or that he is a disciple. See John 18:15-17, 25-27], I will disown him in front of my Father in heaven.

Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is [the fulfillment of] Elijah [as the messenger] who was to come [before the kingdom].

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not join me in gathering, scatters.

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:

for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus, And said to his servants, This is John the Baptist:

And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.

For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

Although Herod wished to have him put to death, he feared the people, for they regarded John as a prophet.

And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.

Now King Herod became very distressed [over such a gruesome request]; but because he had [promised with] oaths and [to look good in front of] his party guests, he ordered John's head to be given [to her].

And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

And John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

And they replied, "But we have here [only] five loaves of [barley] bread [See John 6:9] and two [probably smoked] fish."

An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed.

And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

And He answered them, "Have you not read [Gen. 1:27; 5:2] that when God created [mankind as] male and female,

and said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall join to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?'

so that they are no more two, but one flesh; what therefore God did join together, let no man put asunder.'

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons [i.e., James and John] came to Jesus with her sons and, bowing down in reverence before Him, made a request of Him.

But Jesus replied to her, "You [really] do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup [i.e., of suffering] that I am about to drink?" They [i.e., James, John and their mother. See Mark 10:35ff] answered, "[Yes] we are able to."

He then left them and went out of the city [of Jerusalem] to Bethany [Note: This was a small village near Bethphage] and stayed there [i.e., probably at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. See John 11:1].

The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

So, they answered Jesus, "We do not know [where John got the authority for his immersion]." Jesus then replied to them, "[Then] neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching].

For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [i.e., James and John] with Him, and [soon] began to be grieved and very distressed.

Just then, one of those who were with Jesus [i.e., Peter. See John 18:10], reached out with his sword and struck the head priest's servant [with it], shearing off his ear.

But Peter followed Him from a distance [as they were going] to the courtyard of the head priest. He went inside [i.e., eventually. See John 18:15-16] and sat down with the [Jewish] officers to see how things would turn out [i.e., with Jesus' trial].

Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary, the mother of James and Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee [i.e., Salome. Mark 15:40].

And when they met Him [there], they [knelt down] to worship Him; but some [still] had doubts [i.e., about His resurrection. See John 20:25].

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;

John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

And people from throughout all the regions of Judea and all of Jerusalem went out to John [in the desert]. And he immersed them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

In his preaching John said, "One who is more powerful than I am will follow my ministry. I am not [even] worthy to stoop down and loosen the straps of His sandals [i.e., to serve as His slave].

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Immediately coming up out of the water, he (John) saw the heavens torn open, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him (Jesus);

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

And Simon and those who were with him [i.e., probably Andrew, James and John. See verse 29] followed Him.

And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew [i.e., the same as Nathaniel. See John 1:45], Matthew [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14], Thomas [i.e., the same as Didymus. See John 11:16], James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus [i.e., the same as Judas, the son of James. See Luke 6:16], Simon the Canaanean [i.e., the same as the Zealot. See Luke 6:15],

And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

They laughed at Him scornfully. But after having all the people wait outside He took the child's father and mother, along with those who came with Him [i.e., Peter, James and John] and went in to where the [dead] child lay.

And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.

For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn't do it

For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Then an ideal opportunity arose [i.e., for Herodias to do away with John] when Herod gave a dinner on his birthday for his influential friends, military commanders and the prominent officials of Galilee.

And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.

So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John’s head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison,

Then he brought John's head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away John’s body and laid it in a tomb.

And He said to them, "How many loaves [of bread] do you have? Go and see." And when had found out, they said, "Five [barley] loaves [See John 6:9] and two [probably smoked] fish."

Seeing them laboring at the oars--for the wind was against them--about three hours after midnight Jesus came towards them, walking on the water, intending to join them.

And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

And when Peter, James and John [See verse 2] returned to [the rest of] the disciples, they saw a large crowd gathered around them, and the experts in the law of Moses disputing with them.

And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife,

what therefore God did join together, let not man put asunder.'

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

So, they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know [where John got his authority to immerse]." Jesus replied to them, " [Then] neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching]."

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;