2 during the high priesthood of Annasab and Caiaphas,ac God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.ad 3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,ae proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,af 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight!

5 Every valley will be filled,

and every mountain and hill will be made low;A

the crooked will become straight,

the rough ways smooth,

6 and everyone will see the salvation of God.B,a

7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!b Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?c 8 Therefore produce fruitd consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’e for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”f