Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
1 For behold, the sLord God of hosts
is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply,1
all tsupport of bread,
and all support of water;
2 uthe mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty
and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
and the expert in charms.
4 vAnd I will make boys their princes,
and infants2 shall rule over them.
5 wAnd the people will oppress one another,
every one his fellow
and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the despised to the honorable.
6 For xa man will take hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule”;
7 in that day he will speak out, saying:
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their zspeech and their deeds are against the Lord,
9 For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin blike Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
cFor they have brought evil on themselves.
10 dTell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
efor they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 fWoe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
12 My people—ginfants are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, hyour guides mislead you
and they have swallowed up5 the course of your paths.
13 The Lord ihas taken his place to contend;
he stands to judge peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
with the jelders and princes of his people:
“It is you who khave devoured6 the vineyard,
lthe spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by mcrushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of hosts.
16 The Lord said:
nBecause othe daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
ptinkling with their feet,
17 therefore the Lord qwill strike with a scab
the heads of othe daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away rthe finery of the anklets, the sheadbands, and the tcrescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the uheaddresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and vnose rings; 22 the wfestal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.
24 Instead of xperfume there will be rottenness;
and instead of a ybelt, a rope;
and instead of zwell-set hair, abaldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a bskirt of sackcloth;
and cbranding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
and your mighty men in battle.
26 And dher gates shall lament and mourn;
empty, she shall esit on the ground.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, athe Son of God.1
2 bAs it is written in Isaiah the prophet,2
c“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 dthe voice of one crying in the wilderness:
e‘Prepare3 the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 fJohn appeared, baptizing in gthe wilderness and proclaiming ha baptism of irepentance jfor the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, kconfessing their sins. 6 Now John was lclothed with camel’s hair and lwore a leather belt around his waist and ate mlocusts and nwild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, o“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 pI have baptized you with water, but qhe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism of Jesus
9 rIn those days Jesus scame from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he tsaw uthe heavens being torn open vand the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And wa voice came from heaven, x“You are my beloved Son;4 with you I am well pleased.”
The Temptation of Jesus
12 yThe Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 yAnd he was in the wilderness forty days, being ztempted by aSatan. And he was with the wild animals, and bthe angels were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 cNow after John was arrested, Jesus dcame into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, e“The time is fulfilled, and fthe kingdom of God is at hand;5 grepent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 hPassing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become ifishers of men.”6 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
