John 1:6

¹“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me! The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Behold, the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming!” says the LORD of Armies.

²⁸You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’

³The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God. ⁴Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. ⁵The LORD’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

³³I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’

²⁴before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,

¹In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ²“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” ³For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make the way of the Lord ready! Make his paths straight!”

⁴Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. ⁶They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! ⁹Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

¹¹“I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁰For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

¹The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in the prophets, “Behold,^[+] I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you:³the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’”

⁴John came baptizing^[+] in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. ⁵All the country of Judea and all those of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. ⁶John was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. ⁸I baptized you in^[+] water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”

⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. ⁶He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”