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,

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 x}with 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,

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,

and

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,

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:

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.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 ^aThe beginning of the gospel of Jesus ^bChrist, the ^cSon of God.¹

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,²

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 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. 6 Now John was clothed with ^fcamel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 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. 8 I have baptized you ^gwith water, but he will baptize you ^hwith the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

9 ⁱIn those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw ^jthe heavens being ^ktorn open and the Spirit descending ^lon him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, ^m“You are my ⁿbeloved Son;^{4 o}with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

12 ^pThe Spirit immediately drove him out into the ^qwilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the ^rwild animals, and the ^sangels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 ^tNow after John was ^uarrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is ^vat hand;⁵ repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 ^wPassing alongside the ^xSea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, ^y“Follow me, and I will make you become ^zfishers of men.”⁶ 18 And immediately they ^aleft their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 ^bAnd they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were ^castonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had ^dauthority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the ^eHoly One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be ^fsilent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, ^gconvulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

29 ^hAnd immediately he⁷ left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And ⁱhe would not permit the demons to speak, ^jbecause they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

35 ^kAnd rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is ^llooking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 ^mAnd he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 ⁿAnd a ^oleper⁸ came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 ^pAnd immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus⁹ sternly ^qcharged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^rshow yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing ^swhat Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 ^tBut he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 ^bIn the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, ^cPontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and ^dHerod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother ^ePhilip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of ^fAnnas and ^gCaiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a ^hbaptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You ^kbrood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the ^lwrath to come? 8 Bear fruits ^min keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have ⁿAbraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^oEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has ^ptwo tunics² is to ^qshare with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, ^r“Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning ^sJohn, whether he might be ^tthe Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you ^uwith water, ^vbut he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the ^wHoly Spirit and fire. 17 His ^xwinnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to ^ygather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with ^zunquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 ^aBut Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, ^bhis brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that ^che locked up John in prison.

21 ^dNow when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, ^ethe heavens were opened, 22 and the ^fHoly Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ^g“You are my ^hbeloved Son;^{3 i}with you I am well pleased.”⁴

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about ^jthirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,⁵ the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the ^kson of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The Temptation of Jesus

1 ^lAnd Jesus, ^mfull of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the ⁿwilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ^oate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ^p‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been ^qdelivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will ^rworship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

11 and

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ^v‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 ^wAnd Jesus returned in the ^xpower of the Spirit to Galilee, and a ^yreport about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he ^ztaught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

16 ^aAnd he came to ^bNazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ^h“Is not this ⁱJoseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” ^jWhat we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ^kno prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, ^lthere were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And ^mthere were many lepers⁶ in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.