Matthew 3:1–10

The Preaching of John the Baptist

¹Now ^ain those days ^1bJohn the Baptist ^*2came, ³preaching in the ^cwilderness of Judea, saying,

²“^aRepent, for ^bthe kingdom of heaven ¹is at hand.”

³For 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!’”

⁴Now John himself had ^1aa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^blocusts and wild honey.

⁵Then Jerusalem ^awas going out to him, and all Judea, and all ^bthe district around the Jordan;

⁶and they were being ^abaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷But 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;

⁹and 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.