Luke 3
The Proclamation of John the Baptist
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor
Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was rulera
of Galilee, and his brother Philip rulerb of the region of
Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias rulerc of Abilene, 2during
the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of
Zechariah in the wilderness. 3He went into all the
region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins, 4as it is written in the book of
the words of the prophet Isaiah,
"The voice of one crying out in the
wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths
straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked
shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "
7 John said to
the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits
worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our
ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to
Abraham. 9Even now the ax is lying at the root of the
trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire."
10 And the crowds asked him, "What then
should we do?" 11In reply he said to them, "Whoever
has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do
likewise." 12Even tax collectors came to be
baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" 13He
said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." 14Soldiers
also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort
money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your
wages."
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and
all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the
Messiah,d 16John answered all of
them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I
is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize
you withe the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His
winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the
wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good
news to the people. 19But Herod the ruler,f
who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because
of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20added
to them all by shutting up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved;g with you I am well pleased."h
The Ancestors of Jesus
23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli, 24son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, 27son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,i son of Neri, 28son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, 29son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, 30son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David, 32son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala,j son of Nahshon, 33son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni,k son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor, 35son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech, 37son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, 38son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.