MATTHEW 3 [†] h In those days  i John the Baptist came preaching in  j the wilderness of Judea, 2[†] k “Repent, for  l the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3[†]For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

 m “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

 n ‘Prepare [1] the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’”

4[†]Now John wore  o a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was  p locusts and  q wild honey. 5[†]Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan,  r confessing their sins.

7[†]But when he saw many of  s the Pharisees and  t Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,  u “You brood of  v vipers! Who warned you to flee from  w the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit  x in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves,  y ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from  z these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.  a Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11[†] b “I baptize you with water  c for repentance, but  d he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you  e with the Holy Spirit and  f fire. 12[†]His  g winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and  h gather his wheat into the barn,  i but the chaff he will burn with  j unquenchable fire.”

13[†] k Then Jesus came  l from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14[†] m 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 thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16[†]And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold,  o the heavens were opened to him, [2] and he  p saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17[†]and behold,  q a voice from heaven said,  r “This is my beloved Son, [3] with whom I am well pleased.”