Matthew 3:1-12, Luke 3:1-18 - LSB - Legacy Standard Bible

Matthew 3:1-12

The Preaching of John the Baptist

Now ^ain those days ¹^bJohn the Baptist *²came, ³preaching in the ^cwilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “^aRepent, for ^bthe kingdom of heaven ¹is at hand.” 3 For this is the ^aone referred to ¹by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

“^bThe voice of one ²crying in the wilderness,

‘^cMake ready the way of the ³Lord,

Make His paths straight!’”

4 Now John himself had ¹^aa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^blocusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem ^awas going out to him, and all Judea, and all ^bthe district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being ^abaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the ^aPharisees and ^bSadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You ^cbrood of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^dthe wrath to come? 8 ^aTherefore bear fruit ^bin keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘^aWe have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 And the ^aaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore ^bevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, ^aI baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^bHe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His ^awinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^bgather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^cchaff with ^dunquenchable fire.”

Luke 3:1-18

The Preaching of John the Baptist

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^aPontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^bHerod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of ^aAnnas and ^bCaiaphas, ^cthe word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all ^athe district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“^aThe voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the ¹Lord,

Make His paths straight.

^aEvery ravine will be filled,

And every mountain and hill will be ¹brought low;

The crooked will be straight,

And the rough roads smooth.

^aAnd all ¹flesh will ^bsee the salvation of God.’”

7 So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^aYou brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^ado not begin to say ¹to yourselves, ‘^bWe have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^aevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^aThen what should we do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two ¹tunics is to ^ashare with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And ^atax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 And he said to them, “¹Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^aextort anyone, and ^bbe content with your wages.”
15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John, ^aas to whether he was the ¹Christ, 16 ^aJohn answered, saying to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His ^awinnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with ^bunquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the gospel to the people.