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¹ And in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, in the presidency of Pontius Pilate in Judaea, while Herod was Tetrarch in Galilee, and Philip his brother Tetrarch in Ituraea and in the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilene,² in the high priesthood of Annas and of Caiaphas; the word of God was upon John the son of Zachariah, in the wilderness.³ And he came into all the region about the Jordan, proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.⁴ As it is written in the book of the discourses of Isaiah the prophet, who said: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; and make straight paths in the plain for our God.⁵ All valleys shall be filled up, and all mountains and hills be lowered; and the hillock shall be levelled down, and the rough place become smooth.⁶ And all flesh shall see the life which is of God.⁷ And he said to the multitudes, who came to him to be baptized: Ye progeny of vipers, who hath instructed you to flee from the future wrath?⁸ Bring forth, therefore, fruits comporting, with repentance. And begin not to say in yourselves: We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that God can, from these stones, raise up sons to Abraham.⁹ And lo, the ax is put to the root of trees. Every tree therefore that beareth not good fruits, is hewed down, and falleth into the fire.¹⁰ And the multitudes asked him, and said: What, then, shall we do?¹¹ He answered and said to them: Whoever hath two tunics, let him give [fn] to him that hath none; and whoever hath food, let him do the same. ¹² And publicans also came to be baptized. And they said to him: Teacher, what shall we do?¹³ And he said to them: Exact no more than ye are required to exact.¹⁴ And those serving in war inquired of him, and said: And what shall we do? He said to them: Be insolent to no one, and oppress no one, and let your pay satisfy you.

¹⁵ And while the people were thinking of John, and all pondered in their heart, whether he were the Messiah;¹⁶ John answered and said to them: Behold, I baptize you with water; but after me cometh one mightier than I, the strings of whose shoes I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.¹⁷ He holdeth his winnowing shovel in his hand, and he will make clean his threshing floor; and the wheat he gathereth into his garners, and the chaff he will burn with fire not extinguished.¹⁸ And many other things also, he taught and proclaimed to the people.¹⁹ But Herod the Tetrarch, because he was reproved by John, on account of Herodias the wife of his brother Philip, and on account of all the evil things he had done,²⁰ added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

²¹ And it occurred, when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized. And as he prayed, the heavens were opened;²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon him, in the bodily likeness of a dove: and there was a voice from heaven, which said: Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I have delight.²³ And Jesus was about thirty years old. And he was accounted the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph,²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Shimei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,²⁷ the son of Joanna, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zorubbabel, the son of Salathiel, the son of Neri,²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,²⁹ the son of Joses, the son of Eliezer, the son of Joram, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,³¹ the son of Melcah, the son of Mainan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Pharez, the son of Judah³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Salah,³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mehalaleel, the son of Cainan,³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.