John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)(B)

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate^(C) was governor of Judea, Herod^(D) tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— ² during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,^(E) the word of God came to John^(F) son of Zechariah^(G) in the wilderness. ³ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.^{(H) 4} As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

3 “I will send my messenger,^(A) who will prepare the way before me.^(B) Then suddenly the Lord^(C) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,^(D) whom you desire,^(E) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

² But who can endure^(F) the day of his coming?^(G) Who can stand^(H) when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire^(I) or a launderer’s soap.^{(J) 3} He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;^(K) he will purify^(L) the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.^(M) Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,^{(N) 4} and the offerings^(O) of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.^(P)

3 “I will send my messenger,^(A) who will prepare the way before me.^(B) Then suddenly the Lord^(C) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,^(D) whom you desire,^(E) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

² But who can endure^(F) the day of his coming?^(G) Who can stand^(H) when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire^(I) or a launderer’s soap.^{(J) 3} He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;^(K) he will purify^(L) the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.^(M) Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,^{(N) 4} and the offerings^(O) of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.^(P)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³ I thank my God every time I remember you.^{(A) 4} In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray^(B) with joy ⁵ because of your partnership^(C) in the gospel from the first day^(D) until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion^(E) until the day of Christ Jesus.^(F)

⁷ It is right^(G) for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart^(H) and, whether I am in chains^(I) or defending^(J) and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify^(K) how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love^(L) may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,^{(M) 10} so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,^{(N) 11} filled with the fruit of righteousness^(O) that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.