Mark 1:4

In the wilderness ¹  John the baptizer ²  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ³ 

And so John came, baptising in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and was preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins.

John came, and gave baptism in the waste land, preaching baptism as a sign of forgiveness of sin for those whose hearts were changed.

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

In the wilderness ¹  John the baptizer ²  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ³ 

¹ tn Or “desert.”

² tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “[the] Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

³ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it.