John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)

In those days (B)John the Baptist came preaching (C)in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for (D)the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 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.’ ”

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. (J)Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him (K)and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

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? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 3:11 M omits and fire

“The(A) voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”

(B)John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance [a]for the remission of sins. (C)Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Now John was (D)clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, (E)“There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. (F)I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you (G)with the Holy Spirit.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 1:4 Or because of forgiveness

[a]while (A)Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to (B)John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. (C)And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance (D)for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

(E)“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
And (F)all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

John Preaches to the People(G)

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, (H)“Brood[b] of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits (I)worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore (J)every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 So the people asked him, saying, (K)“What shall we do then?”

11 He answered and said to them, (L)“He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, (M)let him do likewise.”

12 Then (N)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

13 And he said to them, (O)“Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”

14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”

So he said to them, “Do not [c]intimidate anyone (P)or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered, saying to all, (Q)“I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will (R)baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and (S)gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 3:2 NU, M in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas
  2. Luke 3:7 Offspring
  3. Luke 3:14 Lit. shake down for money

John’s Witness: The True Light

There was a (A)man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a (B)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might (C)believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that (D)Light.

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A Voice in the Wilderness(A)

19 Now this is (B)the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 (C)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you (D)the Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

23 He said: (E)“I am

(F)‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 John answered them, saying, (G)“I baptize with water, (H)but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 (I)It is He who, coming after me, [a]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

28 These things were done (J)in [b]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:27 ranks higher than I
  2. John 1:28 NU, M Bethany

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