LUKE 3:4-25

⁴as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth;

⁶And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

⁷He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Bring 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.

⁹And even now is the axe also laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

¹⁰And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then must we do?

¹¹And he answered and said unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath food, let him do likewise.

¹²And there came also publicans to be baptized, and they said unto him, Master, what must we do?

¹³And he said unto them, Extort no more than that which is appointed you.

¹⁴And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither exact anything wrongfully; and be content with your wages.

¹⁵And as the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether haply he were the Christ;

¹⁶John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but there cometh he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

¹⁷whose fan is in his hand, throughly to cleanse his threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.

¹⁸With many other exhortations therefore preached he good tidings unto the people;

¹⁹but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,

²⁰added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

²¹Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

²²and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

²³And Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,

²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,