The baptism of John was from what source: from heaven or from men?” And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ He will say to us,‘ Then why did you not believe him?’

约翰的洗礼是从哪里来的？是从天上来的？是从人间来的呢？”他们彼此商议说：“我们若说‘从天上来’，他必对我们说：‘这样，你们为什么不信他呢？’

约翰的洗礼是从哪里来的？是从天上来的，还是从人间来的呢？”他们彼此商议说：“我们若说‘从天上来的’，他会对我们说：‘这样，你们为什么不信他呢？’

约翰的洗礼是从哪里来的？是从天上来的，还是从人间来的呢？”他们彼此商议说：“我们若说‘从天上来的’，他会对我们说：‘这样，你们为什么不信他呢？’

约翰的洗礼是从哪里来的？从天上来的，还是从人来的？”他们便彼此议论说：“如果我们说‘是从天上来的’，祂一定会问我们，‘那你们为什么不信他？’

约翰的洗礼是从哪里来的呢？是从天上来的，还是从人来的呢？”他们就彼此议论：“如果我们说‘是从天上来的’，他会问我们‘那你们为什么不信他呢？’

约翰的洗礼是从哪里来的？是来自天上，还是来自人间呢？”他们就彼此讨论，说：“如果我们说‘是来自天上’，他就会问我们‘那么你们为什么不相信他呢？’

約翰的洗禮是從哪裏來的？是從天上來的？是從人間來的呢？」他們彼此商議說：「我們若說『從天上來』，他必對我們說：『這樣，你們為甚麼不信他呢？』

約翰的洗禮是從哪裏來的？是從天上來的，還是從人間來的呢？」他們彼此商議說：「我們若說『從天上來的』，他會對我們說：『這樣，你們為甚麼不信他呢？』

約翰的洗禮是從哪裏來的？是從天上來的，還是從人間來的呢？」他們彼此商議說：「我們若說『從天上來的』，他會對我們說：『這樣，你們為甚麼不信他呢？』

約翰的洗禮是從哪裡來的？從天上來的，還是從人來的？」他們便彼此議論說：「如果我們說『是從天上來的』，祂一定會問我們，『那你們為什麼不信他？』

約翰的洗禮是從哪裡來的呢？是從天上來的，還是從人來的呢？”他們就彼此議論：“如果我們說‘是從天上來的’，他會問我們‘那你們為甚麼不信他呢？’

約翰的洗禮是從哪裏來的？是由於天呢？還是由於人呢？』他們就彼此議論說：『我們若說「由於天」呢，他就會對我們說：「那你們為甚麼不信他？」

約翰的洗禮是從哪裡來的？是來自天上，還是來自人間呢？」他們就彼此討論，說：「如果我們說『是來自天上』，他就會問我們『那麼你們為什麼不相信他呢？』

約翰之洗自奚、自天乎、自人乎、眾竊議曰、若云自天、彼必曰、曷不信之、

約翰施洗、由天乎、由人乎、眾竊議曰、若云由天、彼必曰、曷不信之、

約翰之施洗何自、自天乎、自人乎、眾竊議曰、若云自天、彼必曰、然則何不信之、

夫如望之洗、何自而來、自天乎、自人乎？』若輩私議曰：

John’s baptism— where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ he will ask,‘ Then why didn’t you believe him?’

Where did John’s baptism come from? Was it from heaven? Or did it come from human authority?” They talked to one another about it. They said,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ he will ask,‘ Then why didn’t you believe him?’

The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ he will say to us,‘ Why then did you not believe him?’

“ Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves.“ If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John.

Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ he will say to us,‘ Then why didn’t you believe him?’

The baptism of John— where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ He will say to us,‘ Why then did you not believe him?’

The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why then did ye not believe 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?’

The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” They discussed this among themselves, saying,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ he will say,‘ Then why did you not believe him?’

The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They reasoned with themselves, saying,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ he will ask us,‘ Why then did you not believe him?’

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:“ Behold, I am sending My messenger before You, Who will prepare Your way;The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.And he was preaching, saying,“ After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals.I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him;and a voice came from the heavens:“ You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Jesus answered them,“ I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.

Now in those days John the Baptist* came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,“ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,“ The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan;and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them,“ You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance;and do not assume that you can say to yourselves,‘ We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham.And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.“ As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John* testified about Him and called out, saying,“ This was He of whom I said,‘ He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’ ”

They discussed among themselves, saying,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ He will say,‘ Why did you not believe him?’

The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.And he came into all the region around 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 calling out in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be lowered; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth;And all flesh will see the salvation of God!’ ”So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him,“ You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and do not start saying to yourselves,‘ We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”And the crowds were questioning him, saying,“ Then what are we to do?”And he would answer and say to them,“ The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.”Now even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him,“ Teacher, what are we to do?”And he said to them,“ Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”And soldiers also were questioning him, saying,“ What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them,“ Do not extort money from anyone, nor harass anyone, and be content with your wages.”Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, whether he himself perhaps was the Christ,John responded to them all, saying,“ As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding Herodias, his brother’s wife, and regarding all the evil things which Herod had done,Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.“ To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and say,‘ We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not weep.’For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say,‘ He has a demon!’The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say,‘ Behold, a gluttonous man and a heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’And yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

And they came to John and said to him,“ Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified— behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.”John replied,“ A person can receive not even one thing unless it has been given to him from heaven.You yourselves are my witnesses that I said,‘ I am not the Christ,’ but,‘ I have been sent ahead of Him.’He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.He must increase, but I must decrease.“ He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true.For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly.The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand.The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John:“ What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces!But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.This is the one about whom it is written:‘ Behold, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force.For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.

They asked him, and said to him,“ Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”John answered them, saying,“ I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.It is He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the strap of His sandal.”These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people.The next day he* saw Jesus coming to him, and* said,“ Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!This is He in behalf of whom I said,‘ After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’And I did not recognize Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”And John testified, saying,“ I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me,‘ He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

And they* came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders* came to Him,and began saying to Him,“ By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?”But Jesus said to them,“ I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.”And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ He will say,‘ Then why did you not believe him?’But should we say,‘ From men’?”— they were afraid of the people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet.Answering Jesus, they* said,“ We do not know.” And Jesus* said to them,“ Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

A man came, one sent from God, and his name was John.

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:“ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David—Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times—Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;To show mercy to our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant,The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Would serve Him without fear,In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;To give His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

But though He had performed so many signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him.This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled:“ Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,“ He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they will not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and be converted, and so I will not heal them.”These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke about Him.Nevertheless many, even of the rulers, believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be excommunicated from the synagogue;for they loved the approval of people rather than the approval of God.

You have sent messengers to John, and he has testified to the truth.But the testimony I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.He was the lamp that was burning and shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.But the testimony I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish— the very works that I do— testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

How can you believe, when you accept glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.But the angel said to him,“ Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth.For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.