Luke 3:3-19

³So he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins;

⁴as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: “A voice calling out: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, make His paths straight.

⁵Every ravine will be filled up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the crooked parts of the roads will be straightened out, and the rough parts will be smoothed out;

⁶and all flesh will see the salvation of God.’ ”

⁷Then he said to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him: “You sons of poisonous snakes! Who tipped you off to flee from the coming wrath?

⁸Well then, produce fruits befitting repentance, and don't even begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father,’ because I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!

⁹But even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees; so then, every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰So the people started asking him, “What then must we do?”

¹¹In answer he said to them, “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food should do likewise.”

¹²Well even tax collectors came to be baptized by him and said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”

¹³So He said to them, “Don't charge more than what was determined to you.”

¹⁴So the soldiers started asking him too: “What about us? What must we do?” He said to them, “Don't extort or harass anyone, and be content with your wages.”

¹⁵Now as the people were expectant and all were reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether he just might be the Messiah,

¹⁶John anticipated them all saying: “I indeed am baptizing you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire;

¹⁷whose winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸(Indeed, with many other exhortations as well he kept on preaching to the people;

¹⁹but Herod the tetrarch—being reproved by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, as also about all the wicked things that Herod perpetrated—