Luke 3:1–9

¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,↗

²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.↗

³He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.↗

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

⁵Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.↗

⁶All flesh will see God’s salvation.’”↗

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

⁸Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!↗

⁹Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”↗