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Matthew 3-4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Matthew 3-4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[a](A) 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”(B)
4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.(C) 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.(D)
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his[b] baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(E) 8 Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance,(F) 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.(G) 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(H)
11 “I baptize you with[c] water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with[d] the Holy Spirit and fire.(I) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”(J)
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.(K) 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him.(L) 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,[e] with whom I am well pleased.”(M)
The Testing of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished.(N) 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”(O) 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”(P)
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,(Q) 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”(R)
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”(S)
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”(T)
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.(U)
Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee
12 Now when Jesus[f] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles—(V)
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”(W)
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[g](X)
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishers.(Y) 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.(Z) 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Crowds of People
23 Jesus[h] went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news[i] of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.(AA) 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis, and he cured them.(AB) 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.(AC)
Matthew 3-4
New International Version
Matthew 3-4
New International Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)
3 In those days John the Baptist(B) came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(C) has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[a](D)
4 John’s(E) clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.(F) His food was locusts(G) and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized(H) by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers!(I) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(J) 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.(K) 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(L) I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(M)
11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance.(N) But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit(O) and fire.(P) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”(Q)
The Baptism of Jesus(R)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.(S) 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened,(T) and he saw the Spirit of God(U) descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven(V) said, “This is my Son,(W) whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”(X)
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness(Y)
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[d](Z) by the devil.(AA) 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights,(AB) he was hungry. 3 The tempter(AC) came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God,(AD) tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[e]”(AE)
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city(AF) and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,”(AG) he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[f]”(AH)
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[g]”(AI)
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!(AJ) For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[h]”(AK)
11 Then the devil left him,(AL) and angels came and attended him.(AM)
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison,(AN) he withdrew to Galilee.(AO) 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,(AP) which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill(AQ) what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”[i](AR)
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(AS) has come near.”
Jesus Calls His First Disciples(AT)
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee,(AU) he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter(AV) and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,”(AW) Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.(AX)
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.(AY) They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.(AZ)
Jesus Heals the Sick
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee,(BA) teaching in their synagogues,(BB) proclaiming the good news(BC) of the kingdom,(BD) and healing every disease and sickness among the people.(BE) 24 News about him spread all over Syria,(BF) and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed,(BG) those having seizures,(BH) and the paralyzed;(BI) and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[j] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.(BJ)
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
- Matthew 4:1 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
- Matthew 4:4 Deut. 8:3
- Matthew 4:6 Psalm 91:11,12
- Matthew 4:7 Deut. 6:16
- Matthew 4:10 Deut. 6:13
- Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 9:1,2
- Matthew 4:25 That is, the Ten Cities
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.