John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 aIn those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 b“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is cat hand.”1 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
d“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare2 the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore a garment of ecamel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You fbrood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the gwrath to come? 8 Bear fruit hin keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have iAbraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. jEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you kwith water for repentance, but lhe who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you mwith the Holy Spirit and nfire. 12 His owinnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and pgather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with qunquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 rThen Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all srighteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, tthe heavens were opened to him,3 and he saw the uSpirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, v“This is my wbeloved Son,4 xwith whom I am well pleased.”
The Temptation of Jesus
1 yThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the zwilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after afasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the bSon of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
c“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
dbut by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
e“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
f“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, g‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a hvery high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you iwill fall down and jworship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
k“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, langels came and were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 mNow when he heard that John had been narrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in oCapernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be pfulfilled:
15 q“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has rdawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, s“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is tat hand.”5
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 uWhile walking by the vSea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, w“Follow me, and I will make you xfishers of men.”6 20 Immediately they yleft their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
23 zAnd he went throughout all Galilee, ateaching in their synagogues and bproclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his cfame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having dseizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Rescue the Weak and Needy
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 God has btaken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and cshow partiality to the dwicked? Selah
3 Give ejustice to the weak and the fatherless;
fmaintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 gThey have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they hwalk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 iI said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”1
8 jArise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
