1 It was the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar. These men were under Caesar: Pontius Pilate, the ruler of Judea; Herod, the ruler of Galilee; Philip, Herod’s brother, the ruler of Iturea and Traconitis; and Lysanias, the ruler of Abilene.
2 Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
3 He went all over the area around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of changed hearts and lives for the forgiveness of sins.
4 As it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet:“This is a voice of onewho calls out in the desert:‘Prepare the way for the Lord.Make the road straight for him.
5 Every valley should be filled in,and every mountain and hill should be made flat.Roads with turns should be made straight,and rough roads should be made smooth.