Matthew 3:6

3:6 and he was baptizing them ¹  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Mark 1:3-5

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

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ²  his paths straight.’” ³ 

1:4 In the wilderness ⁴  John the baptizer ⁵  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁶  1:5 People ⁷  from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem ⁸  were going out to him, and he was baptizing them ⁹  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Luke 3:3-4

3:3 He ¹⁰  went into all the region around the Jordan River, ¹¹  preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ¹² 

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

“The voice ¹³  of one shouting in the wilderness: ¹⁴ 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ¹⁵  his paths straight.

Acts 19:4

19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, ¹⁶  that is, in Jesus.”

[3:6]  ¹ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[1:3]  ² sn This call to “make his paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

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

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Or “desert.”

[1:4]  ⁵ 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]).

[1:4]  ⁶ 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.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “And the whole Judean countryside.” Mark uses the Greek conjunction καί (kai) at numerous places in his Gospel to begin sentences and paragraphs. This practice is due to Semitic influence and reflects in many cases the use of the Hebrew ו (vav) which is used in OT narrative, much as it is here, to carry the narrative along. Because in contemporary English style it is not acceptable to begin every sentence with “and,” καί was often left untranslated or rendered as “now,” “so,” “then,” or “but” depending on the context. When left untranslated it has not been noted. When given an alternative translation, this is usually indicated by a note.

[1:5]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:3]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:4]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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.

[19:4]  ¹⁶ sn These disciples may have had their contact with John early on in the Baptist’s ministry before Jesus had emerged. This is the fifth time Luke links John the Baptist and Jesus (Acts 1:5; 11:16; 13:25; 18:25).