Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius
Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituræa and
Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high-priesthood
of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came unto John the son of
Zacharias in the wilderness.
And John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leathern girdle
about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey.
And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the
baptism of repentance unto remission of sins; and saying, "Repent ye;
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
For this is he that was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ye ready the way of the Lord,
Make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
And every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
And the crooked shall become straight,
And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
And there went out to him all the country of Judæa, and all they of
Jerusalem, and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan,
confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his
baptism he said unto them, "Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham
to our father': for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones
to raise up children unto Abraham. And even now the axe also lieth at
the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."