~ John the Baptist to the Crowds ~

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him,
"You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
And do not begin to say to yourselves,
'We have Abraham as our father.'
For I tell you that out of these stones
God can raise up children for Abraham.
The ax is already at the root of the trees,
and every tree that does not produce good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.

John answered, "the man with two tunics
should share with him who has none,
and the one who has food should do the same."

Tax collectors also came to be baptized.
"Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"

"Don't collect any more than you are required to,"
he told them.

Then some soldiers asked him,
"And what should we do?"

He replied, "Don't extort money
and don't accuse people falsely --
be content with your pay."

(Luke 3:7-14)