And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying,
Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
{Isaiah 40:3.}The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ye ready the way of the Lord,
Make his paths straight.
Now John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region round about the Jordan;
and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming {Or, for baptism}to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of {Or, your repentance}repentance:
and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
I indeed baptize you {Or, with}in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not {Greek: sufficient.}worthy to bear: he shall baptize you {Or, with}in the Holy Spirit and in fire:
whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer {Or, me}it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him.
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened {Some ancient authorities omit unto him.}unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him;
and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, {Or, This is my Son; my beloved in whom I am well pleased. See chapter 12:18}This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Querverweise zu Matthäus 3,10 Mt 3,10
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; {Or, even}and the {Or, angel}messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.
But who can abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto Jehovah offerings in righteousness.
And even now the axe also lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water,That bringeth forth its fruit in its season,Whose leaf also doth not wither; {Or, in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper}And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
They are planted in the house of Jehovah;They shall flourish in the courts of our God.
And seeing {Or, a single}a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus;
who was faithful to him that {Greek: made.}appointed him, as also was Moses in all {That is, God's house. See Numbers 12:7.}his house.
For he hath been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as he that {Greek: established.}built the house hath more honor than the house.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;They shall be full of sap and green:
And {Or, protect (or, maintain) that which &c.}the stock which thy right hand planted,And the {Hebrew: son.}branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
A man that hath set at nought Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses:
of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified {Greek: a common thing.}an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
For we know him that said, {Deuteronomy 32:35}Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense. And again, {Deuteronomy 32:36}The Lord shall judge his people.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified.
It is burned with fire, it is cut down:They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him {Or, that is from heaven}that warneth from heaven:
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots by the river, and shall not {According to another reading, see.}fear when heat cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
and he digged it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a {Or, wine-vat}winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be {Or, burnt}eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor hoed; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah {Hebrew: the plant of his delight.}his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, {Or, shedding of blood}oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit.
When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women shall come, and set them on fire; for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have compassion upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favor.
Son of man, what is the vine-tree more than any tree, the vine-branch which {Or, was}is among the trees of the forest?
Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned: is it profitable for any work?
Behold, when it was whole, it was {Hebrew: made into}meet for no work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned, shall it yet be {Hebrew: made into}meet for any work!
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so {Or, have I given}will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will set my face against them; they {Or, have gone forth}shall go forth from the fire, but the fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them.
And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none.
And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground?
And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou shalt cut it down.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned.
For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the {Greek: good tidings. See Matthew 4:23 margin.}gospel of God?
And if the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?