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In the fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius--it was while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea; Herod, ruler of Galilee; his brother Philip, ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias, ruler of Abilene;

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In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--

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

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It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene.

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during the Chief-Priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas--John, Zachariah's son, out in the desert at the time, received a message from God.

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during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.

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while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

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Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living out in the wilderness.

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He went all through the country around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of life-change leading to forgiveness of sins,

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He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

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And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,

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Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

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as described in the words of Isaiah the prophet: Thunder in the desert! "Prepare God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!

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As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.

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as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.

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Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, "He is a voice shouting in the wilderness: 'Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him!

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Every ditch will be filled in, Every bump smoothed out, The detours straightened out, All the ruts paved over.

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Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.

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Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;

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Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills! Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places!

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Everyone will be there to see The parade of God's salvation."

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And all mankind will see God's salvation.'"

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And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."'

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And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.'"

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When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God's judgment?

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John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

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Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

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Here is a sample of John's preaching to the crowds that came for baptism: "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God's coming judgment?

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It's your life that must change, not your skin. And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as "father.' Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there--children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants.

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Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

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Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

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Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. Don't just say, 'We're safe--we're the descendants of Abraham.' That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into children of Abraham.

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What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire."

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The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

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And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

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Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire."

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The crowd asked him, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

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"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.

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So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"

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The crowd asked, "What should we do?"

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"If you have two coats, give one away," he said. "Do the same with your food."

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John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

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He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

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John replied, "If you have two coats, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry."

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Tax men also came to be baptized and said, "Teacher, what should we do?"

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Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"

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Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"

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Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, "Teacher, what should we do?"

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He told them, "No more extortion--collect only what is required by law."

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"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told

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And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."

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"Show your honesty," he replied. "Make sure you collect no more taxes than the Roman government requires you to."

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Soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He told them, "No shakedowns, no blackmail--and be content with your rations."

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them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay."

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Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

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"What should we do?" asked some soldiers. John replied, "Don't extort money, and don't accuse people of things you know they didn't do. And be content with your pay."

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The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, "Could this John be the Messiah?"

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The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.

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Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,

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Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah.

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But John intervened: "I'm baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.

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John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

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John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

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John answered their questions by saying, "I baptize with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am--so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

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He's going to clean house--make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned."

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His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

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His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."

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He is ready to separate the chaff from the grain with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, storing the grain in his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire."

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There was a lot more of this--words that gave strength to the people, words that put heart in them. The Message!

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And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

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And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.

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John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.

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But Herod, the ruler, stung by John's rebuke in the matter of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,

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But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done,

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But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

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John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother's wife, and for many other wrongs he had done.

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capped his long string of evil deeds with this outrage: He put John in jail.

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Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

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

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So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.

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After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up

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When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened

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When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

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One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened,

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and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life."

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and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

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And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

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and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. And a voice from heaven said, "You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you. "