3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice ⁴  of one shouting in the wilderness: ⁵ 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ⁶  his paths straight.

3:5 Every valley will be filled, ⁷ 

and every mountain and hill will be brought low,

and the crooked will be made straight,

and the rough ways will be made smooth,

3:6 and all humanity ⁸  will see the salvation of God.’” ⁹ 

3:7 So John ¹⁰  said to the crowds ¹¹  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ¹²  Who warned you to flee ¹³  from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce ¹⁴  fruit ¹⁵  that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say ¹⁶  to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ ¹⁷  For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁸  3:9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, ¹⁹  and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be ²⁰  cut down and thrown into the fire.”

3:10 So ²¹  the crowds were asking ²²  him, “What then should we do?” 3:11 John ²³  answered them, ²⁴  “The person who has two tunics ²⁵  must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” 3:12 Tax collectors ²⁶  also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 3:13 He told them, “Collect no more ²⁷  than you are required to.” ²⁸  3:14 Then some soldiers ²⁹  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ³⁰  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ³¹  or by false accusation, ³²  and be content with your pay.”

3:15 While the people were filled with anticipation ³³  and they all wondered ³⁴  whether perhaps John ³⁵  could be the Christ, ³⁶  3:16 John answered them all, ³⁷  “I baptize you with water, ³⁸  but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy ³⁹  to untie the strap ⁴⁰  of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ⁴¹  3:17 His winnowing fork ⁴²  is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, ⁴³  but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” ⁴⁴ 

3:18 And in this way, ⁴⁵  with many other exhortations, John ⁴⁶  proclaimed good news to the people. 3:19 But when John rebuked Herod ⁴⁷  the tetrarch ⁴⁸  because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, ⁴⁹  and because of all the evil deeds ⁵⁰  that he had done, 3:20 Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison.