Mat 3 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now in those days John the Baptist * came , preaching in the wilderness of Judea , saying ,

a Matt 3:1-12: Mark 1:3-8; Luke 3:2-17; John 1:6-8, 19-28

an Matt 3:13-17: Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21, 22; John 1:31-34

ar Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32; Acts 7:56

at Ps 2:7; Is 42:1; Matt 12:18; 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; John 12:28

Matthew 3

The Preaching of John the Baptist

1 Now ^ain those days ^bJohn the Baptist * ^{▼▼Or arrived; or appeared}came, ^{▼▼Or proclaiming as a herald}preaching in the ^ewilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “ ^fRepent, for ^gthe kingdom of heaven ^{▼▼Lit has come near}is at hand.” 3 For this is the ⁱone referred to ^{▼▼Or through}by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

“ ^kThe voice of one ^{▼▼Or shouting}calling ^{▼▼Or out, Prepare in the wilderness the way} out in the wilderness,
‘ ⁿPrepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4 Now John himself had ^{▼▼Lit his garment
,} ^pa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^qlocusts and wild honey. 5 At that time Jerusalem ^rwas going out to him, and all Judea and all ^sthe region around the Jordan; 6 and they were being ^tbaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the ^uPharisees and ^vSadducees coming for ^{▼▼Later mss his baptism}baptism, he said to them, “You ^{▼▼Or brood
,} ^yoffspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^zthe wrath to come? 8 ^aaTherefore produce fruit ^abconsistent with repentance; 9 and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘ ^acWe have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. 10 And the ^adaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^aeevery tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, ^afI baptize you ^{▼▼The Gr here can be translated in, with, or by}with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^ahHe will baptize you ^{▼▼The Gr here can be translated in, with, or by}with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His ^ajwinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^akgather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^alchaff with ^amunquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

13 ^anThen Jesus *arrived ^aofrom Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” 15 But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ^apto fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him. 16 After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ^{▼▼Or He
,} ^arhe saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and ^{▼▼Lit coming upon Him}settling on Him, 17 and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “ ^atThis is ^{▼▼Or My Son, the Beloved}My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”