Matthew 3

¹In those days, John the Baptist arrives, heralding a message in the Judean wilderness, ²saying, "Turn your lives around, for the kingdom of the heavens is near." ³This is the man spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: "The voice of one shouting in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"

⁴Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they openly confessed their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming fury? ⁸Therefore, produce fruit that proves your change of heart. ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹I, for my part, baptize you in water for a change of heart, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am; I am not even worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor; he will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire."

¹³Then Jesus arrives from Galilee at the Jordan to come to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴But John tried to prevent him, saying, "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?" ¹⁵Jesus answered him, "Let it be this way for now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all justice." Then John permits him. ¹⁶After being baptized, Jesus immediately came up out of the water; and look! The heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. ¹⁷And look! A voice from the heavens said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I take great delight."