⁴And so John the Baptist^d appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance^e for the forgiveness of sins.^f ⁵The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist,^g and he ate locusts^h and wild honey. ⁷And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.ⁱ ⁸I baptize you with^e water, but he will baptize you with^f the Holy Spirit.”^j

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Footnotes

c Mal. 3:1
d Isaiah 40:3
eOr in
fOr in

Cross references

b Mal 3:1; Mt 11:10; Lk 7:27
c Isa 40:3; Jn 1:23
dSee Mt 3:1
ever 8; Jn 1:26, 33; Ac 1:5, 22; 11:16; 13:24; 18:25; 19:3, 4
f Lk 1:77
g 2 Ki 1:8
h Lev 11:22
i Ac 13:25
j Isa 44:3; Joel 2:28; Jn 1:33; Ac 1:5; 2:4; 11:16; 19:4–6

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way,

the voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight,’ ”

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight!

John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

NLTNew Living Translation

just as the prophet Isaiah had written:

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

and he will prepare your way.

He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!

Clear the road for him!’ ”

This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way,

the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths!’ ”

John was there baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the Judean region and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. And John was dressed in camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he was preaching, saying, “One who is more powerful than I is coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals. I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

KJV 1900King James Version

As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Public Domain