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¹ Now 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,² in the highpriesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.³ And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance to remission of sins;⁴ as 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.⁵ Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth;⁶ And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.⁷ He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized of him, You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?⁸ Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and don't begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say to you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.⁹ And even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.¹⁰ And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then must we do?¹¹ And he answered and said to them, He that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise.¹² And there came also publicans to be baptized, and they said to him, Teacher, what must we do?¹³ And he said to them, Extort no more than that which is appointed you.¹⁴ And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said to them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse [any one] wrongfully; and be content with your wages.

¹⁵ And as the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ;¹⁶ John answered, saying to them all, I indeed baptize you in water; but there comes he that is mightier than I, the lace of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and [in] fire:¹⁷ whose fan is in his hand, thoroughly to cleanse his threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.¹⁸ With many other exhortations therefore he preached good tidings to the people;¹⁹ but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother's wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,²⁰ added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

²¹ Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,²² and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, on him, and a voice came out of heaven, You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.²³ And Jesus himself, when he began, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the [son] of Eli,²⁴ the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi, the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Jannai, 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 Semein, the [son] of Josech, the [son] of Joda,²⁷ the [son] of Joanan, the [son] of Rhesa, the [son] of Zerubbabel, the [son] of Shealtiel, the [son] of Neri,²⁸ the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Addi, the [son] of Cosam, the [son] of Elmadam, the [son] of Er,²⁹ the [son] of Jesus, the [son] of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi,³⁰ the [son] of Symeon, the [son] of Judas, the [son] of Joseph, the [son] of Jonam, the [son] of Eliakim,³¹ the [son] of Melea, the [son] of Menna, 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 Sala, the [son] of Nahshon,³³ the [son] of Amminadab, the [son] of Admin, the [son] of Arni, the [son] of Hezron, the [son] of Perez, the [son] of Judah,³⁴ 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 Shelah,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 Mahalaleel, the [son] of Cainan,³⁸ the [son] of Enos, the [son] of Seth, the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God.