Matthew 3
New King James Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)
3 In those days (B)John the Baptist came preaching (C)in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for (D)the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
(E)“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
(F)‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
4 Now (G)John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was (H)locusts and (I)wild honey. 5 (J)Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 (K)and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, (L)“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from (M)the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, (N)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. (O)Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 (P)I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. (Q)He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit [a]and fire. 12 (R)His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will (S)burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John Baptizes Jesus(T)
13 (U)Then Jesus came (V)from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 (W)When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and [b]He saw (X)the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 (Y)And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, (Z)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:11 M omits and fire
- Matthew 3:16 Or he
Matthew 3
Tree of Life Version
John’s Witness to Israel’s Leaders
3 In those days, John the Immerser came proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Turn away from your sins, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” [a] 3 For he is the one Isaiah the prophet spoke about, saying,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of Adonai, and make His paths straight.’”[b]
4 Now John wore clothing from camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts[c] and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were being immersed by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance; 9 and do not think that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 Already the axe is laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!
11 “As for me, I immerse you in water for repentance. But the One coming after me is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He shall clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but the chaff He shall burn up with inextinguishable fire.”[d]
The Heavens Open at Yeshua’s Mikveh
13 Then Yeshua came from the Galilee to John, to be immersed by him in the Jordan. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be immersed by You, and You are coming to me?”
15 But Yeshua responded, “Let it happen now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” So John yielded to Him.
16 After being immersed, Yeshua rose up out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Ruach Elohim[e] descending like a dove and coming upon Him. 17 And behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased!”[f]
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:3 cf. Dan. 2:44.
- Matthew 3:3 Isa. 40:3.
- Matthew 3:4 cf. Lev. 11:22.
- Matthew 3:12 cf. Ps. 1:4; Jer. 7:20.
- Matthew 3:16 cf. Gen. 1:2.
- Matthew 3:17 cf. Ps. 2:7; Prov. 30:4.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.