In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea

那时，有施洗的约翰出来，在犹太的旷野传道，说：

在那些日子，施洗的约翰出来，在犹太的旷野宣讲：

在那些日子，施洗的约翰出来，在犹太的旷野宣讲：

那时，施洗者约翰来到犹太的旷野传道，说：

那时，施洗的约翰出来，在犹太的旷野传道，

在那些日子里，施洗者约翰来了，在犹太的旷野传道，

那時，有施洗的約翰出來，在猶太的曠野傳道，說：

在那些日子，施洗的約翰出來，在猶太的曠野宣講：

在那些日子，施洗的約翰出來，在猶太的曠野宣講：

那時，施洗者約翰來到猶太的曠野傳道，說：

那時，施洗的約翰出來，在猶太的曠野傳道，

當那些日子、施洗者約翰出來，在猶太的野地宣傳

在那些日子裡，施洗者約翰來了，在猶太的曠野傳道，

維時、施洗約翰至、宣言於猶太野、

維時、施洗約翰至猶太野、言曰、

維時有施洗約翰來、在猶太曠野宣道曰、

維時、施洗者如望宣道於猶太曠野中曰：

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the Desert of Judea.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

Now in those days John the Baptist* came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying,

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness of Judea proclaiming,

In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain.And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.A voice was saying,“ Cry out!” Another said,“ What should I cry out?”“ All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.

“ I assure you: Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

And they said,“ Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth.For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.

There was a man named John who was sent from God.He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.

Before He came to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.Then as John was completing his life’s work, he said,‘ Who do you think I am? I am not the One. But look! Someone is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on His feet.’

And child, you will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,

beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us— from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth,and everyone will see the salvation of God.He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him,“ Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves,‘ We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”“ What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him.He replied to them,“ The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him,“ Teacher, what should we do?”He told them,“ Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”Some soldiers also questioned him:“ What should we do?” He said to them,“ Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds whether John might be the Messiah.John answered them all,“ I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother’s wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,added this to everything else— he locked John up in prison.

After John’s messengers left, He began to speak to the crowds about John:“ What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

“ Then what baptism were you baptized with?” he asked them.“ With John’s baptism,” they replied.Paul said,“ John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.He was preaching:“ Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals.I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah,Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi— six cities, with their villages.

Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.

“ This is John the Baptist!” he told his servants.“ He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why supernatural powers are at work in him.”For Herod had arrested John, chained him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,since John had been telling him,“ It’s not lawful for you to have her!”Though he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, since they regarded him as a prophet.But when Herod’s birthday celebration came, Herodias’s daughter danced before them and pleased Herod.So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.And prompted by her mother, she answered,“ Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter!”Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests.So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison.His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns.As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.

When Herod heard of it, he said,“ John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!”For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.John had been telling Herod,“ It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!”So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not,because Herod was in awe of John and was protecting him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him he would be very disturbed, yet would hear him gladly.Now an opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee.When Herodias’s own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl,“ Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.”So he swore oaths to her:“ Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”Then she went out and said to her mother,“ What should I ask for?”“ John the Baptist’s head!” she said.Immediately she hurried to the king and said,“ I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter— right now!”Though the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests he did not want to refuse her.The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison,brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.When his disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.

( John testified concerning Him and exclaimed,“ This was the One of whom I said,‘ The One coming after me has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’”)Indeed, we have all received grace after grace from His fullness,for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son— the One who is at the Father’s side— He has revealed Him.This is John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him,“ Who are you?”He did not refuse to answer, but he declared:“ I am not the Messiah.”“ What then?” they asked him.“ Are you Elijah?”“ I am not,” he said.“ Are you the Prophet?”“ No,” he answered.“ Who are you, then?” they asked.“ We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”He said,“ I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord— just as Isaiah the prophet said.”Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.So they asked him,“ Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”“ I baptize with water,” John answered them.“ Someone stands among you, but you don’t know Him.He is the One coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,“ Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!This is the One I told you about:‘ After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’I didn’t know Him, but I came baptizing with water so He might be revealed to Israel.”And John testified,“ I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him.I didn’t know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me,‘ The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on— He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples.When he saw Jesus passing by, he said,“ Look! The Lamb of God!”

“ But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.

John responded,“ No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven.You yourselves can testify that I said,‘ I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete.He must increase, but I must decrease.”The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The One who comes from heaven is above all.He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true.For God sent Him, and He speaks God’s words, since He gives the Spirit without measure.The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands.The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from men?” They began to argue among themselves,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ He will say to us,‘ Then why didn’t you believe him?’But if we say,‘ From men,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a prophet.”So they answered Jesus,“ We don’t know.” And He said to them,“ Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

“ As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old.

The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad. They went to live among the people.

For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.

As these men went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John:“ What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

“ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”