Mark 1:1-12 A beginning of the good news, which is Jesus Christ, God's Son (or: The beginning of the message of ease and wellness which pertains to and has its source in Jesus Christ

JMNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ A beginning of the good news, which is Jesus Christ, God's Son (or: [The] beginning of the message of ease and wellness which pertains to and has its source in Jesus Christ – Son of God). ² In accord with what has been written in Isaiah the prophet [other MSS: in the prophets]: "Look and consider! I, Myself, am periodically sending forth My agent (messenger) on a mission – before Your face – who will progressively construct (build; furnish; equip; put in readiness) Your road (Way; path). [Mal. 3:1] ³ "A voice! One repeatedly crying out (shouting; exulting; exclaiming; imploring): 'Within the midst of the wilderness (desert; desolate place; abandoned and uninhabited region) you folks at once prepare and make ready the road of [the] Lord (the path whose source is [Yahweh]; the Way whose character is that of, and which pertains to, [the] Owner [= Yahweh])! Be progressively constructing (or: Make it a habit of making) His highway (thoroughfare) well-placed and straight.'" (or: "A sound! One is continuously crying out within the midst of the desert: ... ") [Isa. 40:3] ⁴ John – the one habitually baptizing (immersing; dipping) – came into the scene within the wilderness (or: came to be in the uninhabited area of the desert), repeatedly heralding the proclamation of a baptism (an immersion) which signifies, is connected to, and has the characteristics of a change of thinking [= recognition of being headed in the wrong direction] (a change of perception, frame of mind and mode of thought; a change of understanding; = a new attitude involving trust and obedience) and a turning back [to Yahweh, which leads] into an abandoning of and divorcing from failures (a sending-away of errors; a letting-go of sins; a release from and a dismissal of mistakes; a letting-flow-away of situations where the target was missed). ⁵ And all the Judean territory (province; region; country) – even all the people of Jerusalem – kept on traveling out to him in a steady stream, [to be] face to face with him, and were one by one being immersed (baptized) by him within the midst of the Jordan River, while they were continuing in openly confessing-out and acknowledging their failures (mistakes; errors; sins; times of being out of line and falling short of the goal). ⁶ Now John was by habit being one who had dressed himself in a garment woven of camel's hair with a leather belt (or: a girdle made of an animal skin) around his waist and loins, and was customarily eating locusts (or: [dried] grasshoppers) and wild honey [as his food]. ⁷ And he had kept on making a loud public proclamation, as a herald, repeatedly saying, "Behind me the One (or: the Man) stronger than me is progressively approaching (steadily coming) – of Whom I am not (do not exist being) of adequate size or sufficient strength to be competent to, while stooping down, loose and unfasten the strap (thong; lace) of His sandals. ⁸ "I myself, indeed, immerse (or: baptized) you folks within water, yet He Himself will proceed immerse and saturating (or: baptizing) you in a set-apart spirit (or: within [the] Holy Spirit; within a Holy Wind; in a set-apart Breath-effect; in union with a sacred attitude)." ⁹ And within the course of those days it occurred [that] Jesus came from Nazareth, of the Galilee [district], and was immersed into (baptized in) the Jordan by John. ¹⁰ Then immediately, while stepping back up straight from out of the water, He saw (perceived & became aware of) the atmosphere and sky (or: the heavens) being progressively split and torn apart, so as to be divided, and the Breath-effect (the Spirit; the Wind; the Attitude) – as a dove (or: pigeon) – progressively descending into Him! [with other MSS: progressively stepping down and continuously remaining upon Him.] ¹¹ And a Voice was birthed (or: a sound occurred) from out of the midst of the heavens (or: [torn] atmospheres; or: = the sky and outer space; or = the realms of God's presence; or = the holy places of the realms of spirit): "You Yourself are (or: continue being; habitually exist being) My Son – the Beloved One! I seem at ease and appear well and prosperous in union with and within the midst of You (or: I delight in You; I think and imagine ease and wellness within You; I am well-pleased and approve in You)!" ¹² Then immediately (straightway; directly; without delay) the Breath-effect (the Spirit; the Wind; the Attitude) progressively impels Him forth out into the midst of the wilderness (the uninhabited, desolate desert),