Yesaya 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.

Matius 3:3

3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ¹ 

“The voice ²  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ³  his paths straight.’” ⁴ 

Matius 11:10

11:10 This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ⁵ 

who will prepare your way before you.’ ⁶ 

Markus 1:2

1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ⁷ 

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way, ⁸ 

Lukas 7:27

7:27 This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ⁹  who will prepare your way before you.’ ¹⁰ 

[3:3]  ¹ tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ² tn Or “A voice.”

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

[3:3]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[11:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

[11:10]  ⁶ sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[1:2]  ⁷ tc Instead of “in Isaiah the prophet” the majority of mss read “in the prophets” (A W ˹³ Ï Ir^lat). Except for Irenaeus (2nd century), the earliest evidence for this is thus from the 5th (or possibly late 4th) century (W A). The difficulty of Irenaeus is that he wrote in Greek but has been preserved largely in Latin. His Greek remains have “in Isaiah the prophet.” Only the later Latin translation has “in the prophets.” The KJV reading is thus in harmony with the majority of late mss. On the other hand, the witnesses for “in Isaiah the prophet” (either with the article before Isaiah or not) are early and geographically widespread: א B D L Δ Θ Ë¹ 33 565 700 892 1241 2427 al sy^p co Ir. This evidence runs deep into the 2nd century, is widespread, and is found in the most important Alexandrian, Western, and Caesarean witnesses. The “Isaiah” reading has a better external pedigree in every way. It has the support of the earliest and best witnesses from all the texttypes that matter. Moreover it is the harder reading, since the quotation in the first part of the verse appears to be from Exod 23:20 and Mal 3:1, with the quotation from Isa 40:3 coming in the next verse. The reading of the later mss seems motivated by a desire to resolve this difficulty.

[1:2]  ⁸ sn The opening lines of the quotation are from Exod 23:20; Mal 3:1. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[7:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

[7:27]  ¹⁰ sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.