Luke:3:1-20

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* Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar , when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea , Herod tetrarch of Galilee , his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis , and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene , * When Annas and Caiaphas were high priests , the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness . * And he went into all the country about the Jordan , preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins ; * As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet , The voice of one crying in the wilderness , Prepare the way of the Lord , make his paths straight . * Every valley shall be filled , and every mountain and hill shall be brought low ; and the crooked shall be made straight , and the rough ways shall be made smooth ; * And all flesh shall see the salvation of God . * Then he said to the multitude that came forth to be baptized by him , O generation of vipers , who warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? * Bring forth fruit 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 for Abraham from these stones . * Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees : every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down , and cast into the fire . * And the people asked him , What shall we do then ? * He answered and said to them , He who has two coats , let him share with him who has none ; and he who has food , let him do likewise . * Then tax gatherers also came to be baptized , and said to him , Teacher , what shall we do ? * And he said to them , Collect no more than you have been ordered to . * And the soldiers likewise questioned him , saying , And what shall we do ? And he said to them , Do not extort money from anyone or accuse anyone falsely ; and be content with your wages . * And as the people were expectant , and wondering in their hearts if John was the Christ , * John answered , saying to them all , I indeed baptize you with water ; but one mightier than I comes , the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie : he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire : * Whose winnowing fork is in his hand , and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor , and will gather the wheat into his barn ; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire . * And in his exhortation he preached many other things to the people . * But Herod the tetrarch , having been reproved by him because of Herodias , his brother Philip 's wife , and because of all the evils which Herod had done , * Added this to them all : he shut John up in prison .

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