¹ En ce temps-là parut Jean Baptiste, prêchant dans le désert de Judée.

² Il disait: Repentez-vous, car le royaume des cieux est proche.

³ Jean est celui qui avait été annoncé par Esaïe, le prophète, lorsqu'il dit: C'est ici la voix de celui qui crie dans le désert: Préparez le chemin du Seigneur, Aplanissez ses sentiers.

⁴ Jean avait un vêtement de poils de chameau, et une ceinture de cuir autour des reins. Il se nourrissait de sauterelles et de miel sauvage.

⁵ Les habitants de Jérusalem, de toute la Judée et de tout le pays des environs du Jourdain, se rendaient auprès de lui;

⁶ et, confessant leurs péchés, ils se faisaient baptiser par lui dans le fleuve du Jourdain.

⁷ Mais, voyant venir à son baptême beaucoup de pharisiens et de sadducéens, il leur dit: Races de vipères, qui vous a appris à fuir la colère à venir?

⁸ Produisez donc du fruit digne de la repentance,

⁹ et ne prétendez pas dire en vous-mêmes: Nous avons Abraham pour père! Car je vous déclare que de ces pierres-ci Dieu peut susciter des enfants à Abraham.

¹⁰ Déjà la cognée est mise à la racine des arbres: tout arbre donc qui ne produit pas de bons fruits sera coupé et jeté au feu.

¹¹ Moi, je vous baptise d'eau, pour vous amener à la repentance; mais celui qui vient après moi est plus puissant que moi, et je ne suis pas digne de porter ses souliers. Lui, il vous baptisera du Saint-Esprit et de feu.

¹² Il a son van à la main; il nettoiera son aire, et il amassera son blé dans le grenier, mais il brûlera la paille dans un feu qui ne s'éteint point.

¹³ Alors Jésus vint de la Galilée au Jourdain vers Jean, pour être baptisé par lui.

¹⁴ Mais Jean s'y opposait, en disant: C'est moi qui ai besoin d'être baptisé par toi, et tu viens à moi!

¹⁵ Jésus lui répondit: Laisse faire maintenant, car il est convenable que nous accomplissions ainsi tout ce qui est juste. Et Jean ne lui résista plus.

¹⁶ Dès que Jésus eut été baptisé, il sortit de l'eau. Et voici, les cieux s'ouvrirent, et il vit l'Esprit de Dieu descendre comme une colombe et venir sur lui.

¹⁷ Et voici, une voix fit entendre des cieux ces paroles: Celui-ci est mon Fils bien-aimé, en qui j'ai mis toute mon affection.

¹ "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.

² Every branch in me that doesn't bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

³ You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

⁴ Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

⁵ I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

⁶ If a man doesn't remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

⁷ If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.

⁸ "In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

⁹ Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.

¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and remain in his love.

¹¹ I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

¹² "This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.

¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.

¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn't know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

¹⁶ You didn't choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

¹⁷ "I command these things to you, that you may love one another.

¹⁸ If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.

¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his lord.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.

²¹ But all these things will they do to you for my name's sake, because they don't know him who sent me.

²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

²³ He who hates me, hates my Father also.

²⁴ If I hadn't done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn't have had sin. But now have they seen and also hated both me and my Father.

²⁵ But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, 'They hated me without a cause.'

²⁶ "When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.

²⁷ You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.