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“The Word of God Came to John the Son of Zechariah in the Wilderness”
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius,+ when Pontius Pilate was governor over+ Judea and Herod was the regional governor+ in charge+ of Galilee; when Philip, Herod’s+ brother, was the regional governor over+ this+ territory—Iturea and Trachonitis—and Lysanias the regional governor of Abilene,+
2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.+
3 He traveled from place to place all over the Jordan valley,+ proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
4 As it is written in the scroll+ containing+ the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one shouting in the wilderness:
‘ᵖPrepare the way for the LORD+!
Make your crooked paths+ straight+ for him!
5 Every valley must+ be filled in,
and every mountain and hill brought low!
The crooked roads must be made straight,
and the rough paths made smooth!
6 And then all mankind+ will see the salvation of God.’ ”+
7 So, John+ would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned ᵖyou to flee from the wrath to come+?
8 Produce fruits that prove your repentance,+ therefore, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have our father,+ Abraham.+’ For I tell ᵖyou this: God has power to raise up children for Abraham out of these very+ stones!
9 Even now the ax is poised right+ at the root of the trees! Every tree not producing good fruit, therefore, is about+ to be cut down and thrown into the fire+!”
10 “What then should we do?” the crowds kept asking him.
11 “If+ someone has two inner garments,+” John+ replied, “he must share with the person who has none, and if a person has food, he must do the same.+”
12 Some tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they said to him, “what should we do?”
13 “Collect not+ a cent more than what you’ve been ordered to collect,”+ he told them.
14 “And what about us?”+ some soldiers asked him. “What should we do?”
“Don’t extort money from anyone,” John
+ said to them, “and don’t use lies and intimidation to take from others;
+ be content with ᵖyour pay.”
15 Now because+ the people were waiting in suspense and were all wondering in their hearts whether John+ himself might possibly be the Messiah,
16 John, in response,+ told them all, “Though+ I have been baptizing+ ᵖyou with+ water,+ the one who is more powerful than I is coming, and I am not fit to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize ᵖyou with+ the Holy Spirit and fire.+
17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn. The chaff, however, he will burn in+ the unquenchable fire.+”
18 It was+ with many,+ many other exhortations of this kind,+ then, that John+ was proclaiming the gospel to the people.
19 Herod the regional governor,+ however, when he was rebuked by John+ for marrying+ Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the other+ wicked+ things he+ had done,
20 added this to his pile of evil deeds:+ He had+ John locked up in prison.
“You Are My Dearly Loved Son”
21 Now one day,+ when all the people were baptized, Jesus, too, was himself+ baptized. And as he was praying, heaven+ was opened
22 and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove toward+ him. And there+ came a voice from heaven: “ˢYou are my dearly loved Son. With you I am very pleased.”+
“Jesus Himself, When He Began His Ministry, Was About Thirty Years Old”
23 Jesus himself, when he began his ministry,+ was about thirty years old,+ being a descendant+ (though it was thought that he had descended+ from Joseph) of Heli,+
24 who descended+ from Matthat, who descended from Levi, who descended from Melchi, who descended from Jannai, who descended from Joseph,
25 who descended from Mattathias, who descended from Amos, who descended from Nahum, who descended from Esli, who descended from Naggai,
26 who descended from Maath, who descended from Mattathias, who descended from Semein, who descended from Josech, who descended from Joda,
27 who descended from Joanan, who descended from Rhesa, who descended from Zerubbabel, who descended from Shealtiel, who descended from Neri,
28 son of Melchi, who descended from Addi, who descended from Cosam, who descended from Elmadam, who descended from Er,
29 who descended from Joshua, who descended from Eliezer, who descended from Jorim, who descended from Matthat, who descended from Levi,
30 who descended from Simeon, who descended from Judah, who descended from Joseph, who descended from Jonam, who descended from Eliakim,
31 who descended from Melea, who descended from Menna, who descended from Mattatha, who descended from Nathan, who descended from David,
32 who descended from Jesse, who descended from Obed, who descended from Boaz, who descended from Sala, who descended from Nahshon,
33 who descended from Amminadab, who descended from Admin, who descended from Arni, who descended from Hezron, who descended from Perez, who descended from Judah,
34 who descended from Jacob, who descended from Isaac, who descended from Abraham, who descended from Terah, who descended from Nahor,
35 who descended from Serug, who descended from Reu, who descended from Peleg, who descended from Eber, who descended from Shelah,
36 who descended from Cainan, who descended from Arphaxad, who descended from Shem, who descended from Noah, who descended from Lamech,
37 who descended from Methuselah, who descended from Enoch, who descended from Jared, who descended from Mahalaleel, who descended from Cainan,
38 who descended from Enosh, who descended from Seth, who descended from Adam, who was made by God.+