Chapter 3

¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ²in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. ³He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. ⁴As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord.

Make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley will be filled.

Every mountain and hill will be brought low.

The crooked will become straight,

And the rough ways smooth.

⁶All flesh will see God’s salvation.’”

⁷He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones! ⁹Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”

¹¹He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”

¹²Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”

¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”

¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?”

He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”

¹⁵As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ, ¹⁶John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, ¹⁷whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people, ¹⁹but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s¹⁶¹¹⁶¹TR reads “brother Philip’s instead of brother’s” wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, ²⁰added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison. ²¹Now it happened, when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”

²³Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, ²⁷the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, ²⁹the son of Josa, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, ³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, ¹⁶²¹⁶²Some texts add, “the son of Joram,” the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah ³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.