John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹During that time, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judaea, preaching. ²"Repent," he declared, "because the kingdom of heaven is near!" ³For this is the one spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' ⁴John wore rough clothing made from camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He lived on locusts and wild honey. ⁵People poured out to see him — from Jerusalem, from all across Judaea, and from the entire region along the Jordan River. ⁶They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan. ⁷But when John saw large numbers of Pharisees and Sadducees showing up to be baptized, he confronted them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to run from the coming wrath? ⁸Therefore, produce fruits worthy of repentance. ⁹And do not say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰The axe is already at the root of the trees. Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹I baptize you with water for repentance. But someone far more powerful than I am is coming—I'm not even worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹²He holds a shovel in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean his threshing floor. He'll gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he'll burn with fire that never goes out.