Bible in 90 Days
11 Lebanon, open your doors!
Then fire can burn up your cedar trees.
2 Juniper trees, cry out!
The cedar trees have fallen down.
The majestic trees are destroyed.
Cry out, you oak trees of Bashan!
The thick forest has been cut down.
3 Listen to the shepherds cry out!
Their rich grasslands are destroyed.
Listen to the lions roar!
The trees and bushes along the Jordan River are gone.
The Two Shepherds
4 The Lord my God says, “Take care of the sheep that are set apart to be sacrificed. 5 Those who buy them kill them. And they are not punished for it. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord! We’re rich!’ And their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 I will no longer have pity on the people in the land,” announces the Lord. “I will hand all of them over to their neighbors and their king. They will destroy the land. And I will not save anyone from their power.”
7 So I took care of the sheep set apart to be sacrificed. I took special care of those that had been treated badly. Then I got two shepherd’s staffs. I called one of them Favor. I called the other one Union. And I took care of the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three worthless shepherds.
The sheep hated me, and I got tired of them. 9 So I said, “I won’t be your shepherd anymore. Let those of you who are dying die. Let those who are passing away pass away. Let those who are left eat one another up.”
10 Then I got my staff called Favor. I broke it. That meant the covenant the Lord had made with all the nations was broken. 11 It happened that day. The sheep that had been treated badly were watching me. They knew it was the Lord’s message.
12 I told them, “If you think it is best, give me my pay. But if you don’t think so, keep it.” So they paid me 30 silver coins.
13 The Lord said to me, “Throw those coins to the potter.” That amount shows how little they valued me! So I threw the 30 silver coins to the potter at the Lord’s temple.
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union. That broke the family connection between Judah and Israel.
15 The Lord said to me, “Now pretend to be a foolish shepherd. Get the things you need. 16 I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land. He will not take care of those that are wounded. He will not look for the young ones. He will not heal those that are hurt. He will not feed the healthy ones. Instead, he will eat the best sheep. He will even tear their hooves off.
17 “How terrible it will be for that worthless shepherd!
He deserts the flock.
May a sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his powerful arm become weak!
May his right eye be totally blinded!”
The Lord Will Destroy Jerusalem’s Enemies
12 This is a prophecy. It is the Lord’s message about Israel.
The Lord spreads out the heavens. He lays the foundation of the earth. He creates the human spirit within a person. He says, 2 “Jerusalem will be like a cup in my hand. It will make all the surrounding nations drunk from the wine of my anger. Judah will be attacked by its enemies. So will Jerusalem. 3 At that time all the nations on earth will gather together against Jerusalem. Then it will become like a rock that can’t be moved. All the nations that try to move it will only hurt themselves. 4 On that day I will fill every horse with panic. I will make every rider crazy,” announces the Lord. “I will watch over the people of Judah. But I will make all the horses of the nations blind. 5 Then the family groups of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong. That’s because the Lord who rules over all is their God.’
6 “At that time Judah’s family groups will be like a fire pot in a pile of wood. They will be like a burning torch among bundles of grain. They will destroy all the surrounding nations on every side. But Jerusalem will remain unharmed in its place.
7 “I will save the houses in Judah first. The honor of David’s family line is great. So is the honor of those who live in Jerusalem. But their honor will not be greater than the honor of the rest of Judah. 8 At that time I will be like a shield to those who live in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest among them will be great warriors like David. And David’s family line will be like the angel of the Lord who leads them. 9 On that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Israel’s People Will Mourn Over the One They Pierced
10 “I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on David’s family line. I will also send it on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look to me. I am the one they have pierced. They will mourn over me as someone mourns over an only child who has died. They will be full of sorrow over me. Their sorrow will be just like someone’s sorrow over an oldest son. 11 At that time there will be a lot of weeping in Jerusalem. It will be as great as the weeping of the people at Hadad Rimmon. Hadad Rimmon is in the valley of Megiddo. They were weeping over Josiah’s death. 12 Everyone in the land will mourn. Each family will mourn by themselves and their wives by themselves. That will include the family lines of David, Nathan, 13 Levi, Shimei and 14 all the others.
The Lord Makes Israel Pure and “Clean”
13 “At that time a fountain will be opened for the benefit of David’s family line. It will also bless the others who live in Jerusalem. It will wash away their sins. It will make them pure and ‘clean.’
2 “On that day I will remove the names of other gods from the land. They will not even be remembered anymore,” announces the Lord who rules over all. “I will drive the evil prophets out of the land. I will get rid of the spirit that put lies in their mouths. 3 Some people might still prophesy. But their own fathers and mothers will speak to them. They will tell them, ‘You must die. You have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ When they prophesy, their own parents will stab them.
4 “At that time every prophet will be ashamed of the vision they see. They will no longer pretend to be a true prophet. They will not put on clothes that are made out of hair in order to trick people. 5 In fact, each one will say, ‘I’m not really a prophet. I’m a farmer. I’ve farmed the land since I was young.’ 6 Suppose someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ Then they will answer, ‘I was given these wounds at the house of my friends.’
The Good Shepherd Is Killed and the Sheep Are Scattered
7 “My sword, wake up! Attack my shepherd!
Attack the man who is close to me,”
announces the Lord who rules over all.
“Strike down the shepherd.
Then the sheep will be scattered.
And I will turn my hand against their little ones.
8 Here is what will happen in the whole land,”
announces the Lord.
“Two-thirds of the people will be struck down and die.
But one-third will be left.
9 I will put this third in the fire.
I will make them as pure as silver.
I will test them like gold.
They will call out to me.
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people.’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ”
The Lord Will Be King Over the Whole Earth
14 The day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem. At that time your enemies will steal everything your people own. They will divide it up within your walls.
2 The Lord will gather all the nations together. They will fight against Jerusalem. They’ll capture the city. Its houses will be robbed. Its women will be raped. Half of the people will be taken away as prisoners. But the rest of them won’t be taken. 3 Then the Lord will march out and fight against those nations. He will fight as on a day of battle. 4 On that day he will stand on the Mount of Olives. It’s east of Jerusalem. It will be split in two from east to west. Half of the mountain will move north. The other half will move south. A large valley will be formed. 5 The people will run away through that mountain valley. It will reach all the way to Azel. They’ll run away just as they ran from the earthquake when Uzziah was king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come. All the holy ones will come with him.
6 There won’t be any sunlight on that day. There will be no cold, frosty darkness either. 7 It will be a day unlike any other. It will be a day known only to the Lord. It won’t be separated into day and night. After that day is over, there will be light again.
8 At that time water that gives life will flow out from Jerusalem. Half of it will run east into the Dead Sea. The other half will go west to the Mediterranean Sea. The water will flow in summer and winter.
9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord. His name will be the only name.
10 The whole land south of Jerusalem will be changed. From Geba to Rimmon it will become like the Arabah Valley. But Jerusalem will be raised up high. It will be raised from the Benjamin Gate to the First Gate to the Corner Gate. It will be raised from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. And it will remain in its place. 11 People will live in it. Jerusalem will never be destroyed again. It will be secure.
12 The Lord will punish all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. He’ll strike them with a plague. It will make their bodies rot while they are still standing on their feet. Their eyes will rot in their heads. Their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day the Lord will fill people with great panic. They will grab one another by the hand. And they’ll attack one another. 14 Judah will also fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected. Huge amounts of gold, silver and clothes will be gathered up. 15 The same kind of plague will strike the horses, mules, camels and donkeys. In fact, it will strike all the animals in the army camps.
16 But some people from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will still be left alive. All of them will go up there to worship the King. He is the Lord who rules over all. Year after year these people will celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 Some nations might not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King. If they don’t, they won’t have any rain. 18 The people of Egypt might not go up there to take part. Then they won’t have any rain either. That’s the plague the Lord will send on the nations that don’t go to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 Egypt will be punished. So will all the other nations that don’t celebrate the feast.
20 On that day “Holy to the Lord” will be carved on the bells of the horses. The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple will be just like the sacred bowls in front of the altar for burnt offerings. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be set apart to the Lord. All those who come to offer sacrifices will get some of the pots and cook in them. At that time there won’t be any Canaanites in the Lord’s temple. He is the Lord who rules over all.
1 This is a prophecy. It is the Lord’s message to Israel through Malachi.
Israel Doubts God’s Love
2 “Israel, I have loved you,” says the Lord.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “But I chose Jacob 3 instead of Esau. I have turned Esau’s hill country into a dry and empty land. I left that land of Edom to the wild dogs in the desert.”
4 Edom might say, “We have been crushed. But we’ll rebuild our cities.”
The Lord who rules over all says, “They might rebuild their cities. But I will destroy them. They will be called the Evil Land. My anger will always remain on them. 5 You will see it with your own eyes. You will say, ‘The Lord is great! He rules even beyond the borders of Israel!’
Give Your Best to the Lord
6 “A son honors his father. A slave honors his master. If I am a father, where is the honor I should have? If I am a master, where is the respect you should give me?” says the Lord who rules over all.
“You priests look down on me.
“But you ask, ‘How have we looked down on you?’
7 “You sacrifice ‘unclean’ food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we made you “unclean”?’
“You do it by looking down on my altar. 8 You sacrifice blind animals to me. Isn’t that wrong? You sacrifice disabled or sick animals. Isn’t that wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord who rules over all.
9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us! But as long as you give offerings like those, how can he accept you?” says the Lord.
10 “You might as well shut the temple doors! Then you would not light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord. “I will not accept any of the offerings you bring. 11 My name will be great among the nations. They will worship me from where the sun rises in the east to where it sets in the west. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be brought to me. That’s because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord.
12 “But you treat my name as if it were not holy. You say the Lord’s altar is ‘unclean.’ And you look down on its food. 13 You say, ‘What a heavy load our work is!’ And you turn up your nose. You act as if you hate working for me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
“You bring animals that have been hurt. Or you bring disabled or sick animals. Then you dare to offer them to me as sacrifices! Should I accept them from you?” says the Lord. 14 “Suppose you have a male sheep or goat that does not have any flaws. And you promise to offer it to me. But then you sacrifice an animal that has flaws. When you do that, you cheat me. And anyone who cheats me is under my curse. After all, I am a great king,” says the Lord who rules over all. “The other nations have respect for my name. So why don’t you respect it?
The Lord Warns the Priests
2 “Now I am giving this warning to you priests. 2 Listen to it. Honor me with all your heart,” says the Lord who rules over all. “If you do not, I will send a curse on you. I will turn your blessings into curses. In fact, I have already done that because you have not honored me with all your heart.
3 “Because of what you have done, I will punish your children. I will smear the waste from your sacrifices on your faces. And you will be carried off to the dump along with it. 4 You will know that I have given you this warning. I have warned you so that my covenant with Levi will continue,” says the Lord who rules over all. 5 “My covenant promised Levi life and peace. So I gave them to him. I required him to respect me. And he had great respect for my name. 6 True teaching came from his mouth. Nothing but the truth came from his lips. He walked with me in peace. He did what was right. He turned many people away from their sins.
7 “The lips of a priest should guard knowledge. After all, he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all. And people seek instruction from his mouth. 8 But you have turned away from the right path. Your teaching has caused many people to trip and fall. You have broken my covenant with Levi,” says the Lord who rules over all. 9 “So I have caused all the people to hate you. They have lost respect for you. You have not done what I told you to do. Instead, you have favored one person over another in matters of the law.”
Breaking the Covenant Through Divorce
10 People of Judah, all of us have one Father. One God created us. So why do we break the covenant the Lord made with our people of long ago? We do this by being unfaithful to one another.
11 And Judah has been unfaithful. A hateful thing has been done in Israel and Jerusalem. The Lord loves his temple. But Judah has made it impure. Their men have married women who worship other gods. 12 May the Lord punish the man who marries a woman like this. It doesn’t matter who that man is. May the Lord who rules over all remove him from the tents of Jacob’s people. May the Lord remove him even if he brings an offering to him.
13 Here’s something else you do. You flood the Lord’s altar with your tears. You weep and cry because your offerings don’t please him anymore. He doesn’t accept them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, “Why?” It’s because the Lord is holding you responsible. He watches how you treat the wife you married when you were young. You have been unfaithful to her. You did it even though she’s your partner. You promised to stay married to her. And the Lord was a witness to it.
15 Hasn’t the one God made the two of you one also? Both of you belong to him in body and spirit. And why has the one God made you one? Because he wants his children to be like him. So be careful. Don’t be unfaithful to the wife you married when you were young.
16 “Suppose a man hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord God of Israel. “Then he is harming the one he should protect,” says the Lord who rules over all.
So be careful. And don’t be unfaithful.
Breaking the Covenant by Treating Others Unfairly
17 You have worn out the Lord by what you keep saying.
“How have we worn him out?” you ask.
You have done it by saying, “All those who do evil things are good in the Lord’s sight. And he is pleased with them.” Or you ask, “Is God really fair?”
3 The Lord who rules over all says, “I will send my messenger. He will prepare my way for me. Then suddenly the Lord you are looking for will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant will come. He is the one you long for.”
2 But who can live through the day when he comes? Who will be left standing when he appears? He will be like a fire that makes things pure. He will be like soap that makes things clean. 3 He will act like one who makes silver pure. And he will purify the Levites, just as gold and silver are purified with fire. Then these men will bring proper offerings to the Lord. 4 And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to him. It will be as it was in days and years gone by.
5 “So I will come and put you on trial. I will be quick to bring charges against all of you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “I will bring charges against you sinful people who do not have any respect for me. That includes those who practice evil magic. It includes those who commit adultery and those who tell lies in court. It includes those who cheat workers out of their pay. It includes those who treat widows badly. It also includes those who mistreat children whose fathers have died. And it includes those who take away the rights of outsiders in the courts.
Breaking the Covenant by Stealing From God
6 “I am the Lord. I do not change. That is why I have not destroyed you members of Jacob’s family. 7 You have turned away from my rules. You have not obeyed them. You have lived that way ever since the days of your people of long ago. Return to me. Then I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’
8 “Will a mere human being dare to steal from God? But you rob me!
“You ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“By holding back your offerings. You also steal from me when you do not bring me a tenth of everything you produce. 9 So you are under my curse. In fact, your whole nation is under my curse. That is because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the entire tenth to the storerooms in my temple. Then there will be plenty of food. Test me this way,” says the Lord. “Then you will see that I will throw open the windows of heaven. I will pour out so many blessings that you will not have enough room to store them. 11 I will keep bugs from eating up your crops. And your grapes will not drop from the vines before they are ripe,” says the Lord. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed. Your land will be delightful,” says the Lord who rules over all.
Israel Speaks With Pride Against the Lord
13 “You have spoken with pride against me,” says the Lord.
“But you ask, ‘What have we spoken against you?’
14 “You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. What do we gain by obeying his laws? And what do we get by pretending to be sad in front of the Lord? 15 But now we call proud people blessed. Things go well with those who do what is evil. And God doesn’t even punish those who test him.’ ”
Those Who Respect the Lord
16 Those who had respect for the Lord talked with one another. And the Lord heard them. A list of people and what they did was written in a book in front of him. It included the names of those who respected the Lord and honored him.
17 “The day is coming when I will judge,” says the Lord who rules over all. “On that day they will be my special treasure. I will spare them just as a father loves and spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once again you will see the difference between godly people and sinful people. And you will see the difference between those who serve me and those who do not.
The Day of the Lord Is Coming
4 “You can be sure the day of the Lord is coming. My anger will burn like a furnace. All those who are proud will be like straw. So will all those who do what is evil. The day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord who rules over all. “Not even a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But here is what will happen for you who have respect for me. The sun that brings life will rise. Its rays will bring healing to my people. You will go out and leap for joy like calves that have just been fed. 3 Then you will stomp on sinful people. They will be like ashes under your feet. That will happen on the day I judge,” says the Lord.
4 “Remember the law my servant Moses gave you. Remember the rules and laws I gave him at Mount Horeb. They were for the whole nation of Israel.
5 “I will send the prophet Elijah to you. He will come before the day of the Lord arrives. It will be a great and terrifying day. 6 Elijah will bring peace between parents and their children. He will also bring peace between children and their parents. If that does not happen, I will come. And I will completely destroy the land.”
The Family Line of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is the written story of the family line of Jesus the Messiah. He is the son of David. He is also the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. Tamar was their mother.
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz. Rahab was Boaz’s mother.
Boaz was the father of Obed. Ruth was Obed’s mother.
Obed was the father of Jesse.
6 And Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon. Solomon’s mother had been Uriah’s wife.
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 And Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers. At that time, the Jewish people were forced to go away to Babylon.
12 After this, the family line continued.
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud.
Abihud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Elihud.
15 Elihud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was the husband of Mary. And Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
17 So there were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were 14 from David until the Jewish people were forced to go away to Babylon. And there were 14 from that time to the Messiah.
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary and Joseph had promised to get married. But before they started to live together, it became clear that she was going to have a baby. She became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph was faithful to the law. But he did not want to put her to shame in public. So he planned to divorce her quietly.
20 But as Joseph was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She is going to have a son. You must give him the name Jesus. That’s because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to bring about what the Lord had said would happen. He had said through the prophet, 23 “The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The name Immanuel means “God with us.”
24 Joseph woke up. He did what the angel of the Lord commanded him to do. He took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not sleep with her until she gave birth to a son. And Joseph gave him the name Jesus.
The Wise Men Visit Jesus
2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea. After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose. Now we have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. 4 So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah was going to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,
6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
A ruler will come out of you.
He will rule my people Israel like a shepherd.’ ” (Micah 5:2)
7 Then Herod secretly called for the Wise Men. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report it to me. Then I can go and worship him too.”
9 After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.
Jesus’ Family Escapes to Egypt
13 When the Wise Men had left, Joseph had a dream. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to come back. Herod is going to search for the child. He wants to kill him.”
14 So Joseph got up. During the night, he left for Egypt with the child and his mother Mary. 15 They stayed there until King Herod died. So the words the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true. He had said, “I brought my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1)
16 Herod realized that the Wise Men had tricked him. So he became very angry. He gave orders about Bethlehem and the area around it. He ordered all the boys two years old and under to be killed. This agreed with the time when the Wise Men had seen the star. 17 In this way, the words Jeremiah the prophet spoke came true. He had said,
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah.
It’s the sound of crying and deep sadness.
Rachel is crying over her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
because they are gone.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
Jesus’ Family Returns to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, Joseph had a dream while he was still in Egypt. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to him. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother. Go to the land of Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up. He took the child and his mother Mary back to the land of Israel. 22 But then he heard that Archelaus was king of Judea. Archelaus was ruling in place of his father Herod. This made Joseph afraid to go there. Joseph had been warned in a dream. So he went back to the land of Galilee instead. 23 There he lived in a town called Nazareth. So what the prophets had said about Jesus came true. They had said that he would be called a Nazarene.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
3 In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the Desert of Judea. 2 He said, “Turn away from your sins! The kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 John is the one Isaiah the prophet had spoken about. He had said,
“A messenger is calling out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make straight paths for him.’ ” (Isaiah 40:3)
4 John’s clothes were made out of camel’s hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea. They also came from the whole area around the Jordan River. 6 When they confessed their sins, John baptized them in the Jordan.
7 John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing. He said to them, “You are like a nest of poisonous snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming of God’s anger? 8 Live in a way that shows you have turned away from your sins. 9 Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones. 10 The ax is ready to cut the roots of the trees. All the trees that don’t produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water, calling you to turn away from your sins. But after me, someone is coming who is more powerful than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His pitchfork is in his hand to clear the straw from his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the storeroom. But he will burn up the husks with fire that can’t be put out.”
Jesus Is Baptized
13 Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He wanted to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to stop him. So he told Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you. So why do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be this way for now. It is right for us to do this. It carries out God’s holy plan.” Then John agreed.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened. Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. 17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.”
Jesus Is Tempted in the Desert
4 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him. 2 After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. It is written,
“ ‘The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you.
They will lift you up in their hands.
Then you won’t trip over a stone.’ ” (Psalm 91:11,12)
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16)
8 Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “If you bow down and worship me,” he said, “I will give you all this.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
11 Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him.
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. 13 Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,
15 “Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Galilee, where Gentiles live!
Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!
16 The people who are now living in darkness
have seen a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
But a light has shined on them.” (Isaiah 9:1,2)
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Jesus Chooses His First Disciples
18 One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake, because they were fishermen. 19 “Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers. They were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. As they were preparing their nets, Jesus called out to them. 22 Right away they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
Jesus Heals Sick People
23 Jesus went all over Galilee. There he taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He healed every illness and sickness the people had. 24 News about him spread all over Syria. People brought to him all who were ill with different kinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some were shaking wildly. Others couldn’t move at all. And Jesus healed all of them. 25 Large crowds followed him. People came from Galilee, from the area known as the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem and Judea. Others came from the area across the Jordan River.
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