1. At that time John the Baptist came to the desert of Judea and started preaching.
2. “Turn away from your sins,” he said, “because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”
3. John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said:“Someone is shouting in the desert,‘Prepare a road for the Lord;make a straight path for him to travel!’ ”
4. John's clothes were made of camel's hair; he wore a leather belt round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5. People came to him from Jerusalem, from the whole province of Judea, and from all the country near the River Jordan.
6. They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan.