Matthew 3:1–10

The Messiah’s Herald

3In those days John the Baptist came, ⁱpreaching in the Wilderness of Judea ^j2and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” ^k3For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make His paths straight! ^lm

⁴John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. ⁿ

⁷When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees ^ocoming to the place of his baptism, ^phe said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ^q8Therefore produce fruit ^rconsistent with ^srepentance. ⁹And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ ^tFor I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁰Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ^u