Isaiah 40:3

40:3 A voice cries out,

“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;

construct in the desert a road for our God.

Mark 1:3

1:3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ¹  his paths straight.’” ² 

Luke 3:3-6

3:3 He ³  went into all the region around the Jordan River, ⁴  preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ 

3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice ⁶  of one shouting in the wilderness: ⁷ 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ⁸  his paths straight.

3:5 Every valley will be filled, ⁹ 

and every mountain and hill will be brought low,

and the crooked will be made straight,

and the rough ways will be made smooth,

3:6 and all humanity ¹⁰  will see the salvation of God.’” ¹¹ 

John 1:23

1:23 John ¹²  said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight ¹³  the way for the Lord,’ ¹⁴  as Isaiah the prophet said.”

[1:3]  ¹ sn This call to “make his paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:3]  ² sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[3:3]  ³ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:3]  ⁴ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁵ 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 (Luke 3:10-14).

[3:4]  ⁶ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:4]  ⁷ tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).

[3:4]  ⁸ tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.

[3:5]  ⁹ sn The figurative language of this verse speaks of the whole creation preparing for the arrival of a major figure, so all obstacles to his approach are removed.

[3:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “all flesh.”

[3:6]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3-5. Though all the synoptic gospels use this citation from Isaiah, only Luke cites the material of vv. 5-6. His goal may well be to get to the declaration of v. 6, where all humanity (i.e., all nations) see God’s salvation (see also Luke 24:47).

[1:23]  ¹² tn Grk “He”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ¹³ sn This call to “make straight” is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:23]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.