AUV(i)
1 In those days, John the Immerser went into the desert of Judea preaching [to Jews], saying,
2 “You must repent [i.e., change your hearts and lives], for the kingdom of heaven will soon be here.”
3 For this is the man who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, who said, [Isa. 40:3], “[It is] the voice of a man who speaks out in the desert, [urging people to] make the road for the Lord ready [for Him to travel]; to make a straight pathway for Him [to walk on].”
4 Now John dressed in clothing made of camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt around his waist; he ate grasshoppers and wild honey [i.e., for his regular diet].
5 [People from] Jerusalem and all over Judea and the region around the Jordan River all went out [to the desert] to [hear] him,
6 and people were immersed by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be immersed, John said to them, “You children of snakes, who warned you to run away from the coming wrath [of God]?
8 Demonstrate by your lives that you have [really] repented,