Matthai 3
1 Te vaeng tue ah tuinuem Johan ha pawk tih, Judea khosoek ah a hoe.
About that time John the Baptist first appeared, proclaiming in the Wilderness of Judea:
2 Vaan ram a yoei coeng dongah yut uh laeh, “tila a thui.
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
3 Anih tah, khosoek kah pang ol loh, “Boeipa kah longpuei saelh uh lamtah a caehlong boeih te a dueng la saii uh, tila tonghma Isaiah loh a thui a phong te ni.
This is he who was spoken of in the Prophet Isaiah, where he says — ‘The voice of one crying aloud in the Wilderness: “Make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”’
4 Johan loh kalauk kah a mul himbai te a bai tih, a pumpu ah maehpho cihin a naak. Tangboeng neh kohong khoitui te a buh la om.
John wore clothing made of camels’ hair, with a belt of leather round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Te vaengah Jerusalem, Judah ram boeih neh Jordan pingpang boeih tah anih taengah cet.
At that time Jerusalem, and all Judea, as well as the whole district of the Jordan, went out to him
6 Amih kah tholhnah te a phong uh dongah Johan loh Jordan tuiva ah a nuem uh.
and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 Pharisee rhoek neh Sadducee rhoek khaw anih kah baptisma dang ham muep ha pawk uh te a hmuh. Te vaengah amih te, “Rhulthae cadil rhoek aka tawn uh kosi te rhaelrham tak ham unim nangmih aka tueng.”
When, however, John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to receive his baptism, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who has prompted you to seek refuge from the coming judgment?
8 Te dongah yutnah neh a tiing la a thaih te saii uh.
Let your life, then, prove your repentance;
9 A pa Abraham om tila nangmih khui thui ham poek uh boeh. Pathen loh hekah lungto rhoek lamloh Abraham kah ca rhoek a thoh sak thai te nangmih taengah kan thui.
and do not think that you can say among yourselves ‘Abraham is our ancestor,’ for I tell you that out of these very stones God is able to raise descendants for Abraham!
10 Thing kah a yung ah hai te a khueh oepsoep coeng tih thaih then aka thaii mueh thingkung te boeih a vung vetih hmai khuila a voeih ni.
Already the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 Yutnah ham ni kai loh nangmih tui dongah kan nuem. Tedae Kai hnuk ah aka pawk te tah kai lakah tlung. A khokhom dul ham pataeng ka koih pawh. Anih loh nangmih te Mueihla Cim neh hmai neh n'nuem ni.
I, indeed, baptize you with water to teach repentance; but he who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit even to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
12 Anih loh a kut dongkah rha neh amah kah canghlom te a yah vetih, a cang te khai khuila a khoem ni. Canghi te tah aka duek pawh hmai neh a tih ni,” a ti nah.
His winnowing-fan is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor, and store his grain in the barn, but the chaff he will burn with inextinguishable fire.”
13 Te vaengah Jesuh tah Johan mah loh nuem sak ham te Galilee lamloh Jordan la ha pawk.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him.
14 Tedae Johan loh anih te a mah tih, “Nang loh nan nuem ham te ka ngoe, dae nang te kai taengah lat na pawk,” a ti nah.
But John tried to prevent him. “It is I,” he said, “who need to be baptized by you; why then do you come to me?”
15 Tedae Jesuh loh a doo tih, “Ng 'rhoi laeh, duengnah cungkuem loh mamih taengah a soep la a om ham tueng tangloeng coeng,” a ti nah daengah anih te a rhoi pueng.
“Let it be so for the present,” Jesus answered, “since it is fitting for us thus to satisfy every claim of religion.” Upon this, John consented.
16 A nuem nen tah Jesuh khaw tui lamloh pahoi cet. Te vaengah anih hamla vaan te tarha ong uh tih Pathen kah Mueihla tah vahu bangla anih soah a thoeng pah te a hmuh.
After the baptism of Jesus, and just as he came up from the water, the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending, like a dove, and alighting upon him,
17 Te phoeiah vaan lamkah ol loh, “Hetah ka capa thintlo ni, anih dongah ka lungtlun, “pahoi a ti.
and from the heavens there came a voice which said: “This is my son, the Beloved, in whom I delight.”
