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John 1:23

“He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.””

John 1:23 · direct translation from the Greek
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With the Greek beneath

23

Quotation · Isaiah 40:3

Go to Isaiah 40:3

John the Immerser answers who he is with the words of Isaiah. As in Matthew 3:3, “in the wilderness” goes with “a voice of one crying out.”

Formula: καθὼς εἶπεν Ἠσαΐας ὁ προφήτης “as Isaiah the prophet said” (John 1:23)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: ἔφη Ἐγὼ φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ Εὐθύνατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου καθὼς εἶπεν Ἠσαΐας ὁ προφήτης

Hebrew (Masoretic text): קוֹל קוֹרֵא בַּמִּדְבָּר פַּנּוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה יַשְּׁרוּ בָּעֲרָבָה מְסִלָּה לֵאלֹהֵינוּ

Septuagint (Isaiah 40:3 in the Septuagint numbering): Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδόν Κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 5 consecutive words: “φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

John 1:23, word by word

He saidἔφηephē

say

Say.

Where else “ephē” appears
a voiceφωνὴphōnē

voice

Someone's voice, or a shout.

Where else “phōnē” appears
of one crying outβοῶντοςboōntos

cry out

Cry out, shout loudly.

Where else “boōntos” appears
the wildernessἐρήμῳerēmōi

wilderness

Land without people or crops.

Where else “erēmōi” appears
‘Make straightΕὐθύνατεEuthynate

make straight

To take the bends out of a road so it is ready.

Where else “Euthynate” appears
the wayὁδὸνhodon

road

The route by which one goes from one place to another, or the trip itself.

Where else “hodon” appears
of the Lord,’κυρίουkyriou

Lord

The Lord: God, whose name is YHWH; also Jesus.

Where else “kyriou” appears
IsaiahἨσαΐαςĒsaias

Isaiah

Isaiah, the prophet of Judah whose book announces the Messiah and God's salvation.

Where else “Ēsaias” appears
the prophetπροφήτηςprophētēs

prophet

Someone who speaks for God.

Where else “prophētēs” appears
saidεἶπενeipen

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “eipen” appears

Translation note

A quotation of Isaiah 40:3 following the Greek.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Isaiah 40:3

John the Immerser answers who he is with the words of Isaiah. As in Matthew 3:3, “in the wilderness” goes with “a voice of one crying out.”

See them side by side

John 1:23

23He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Isaiah 40:3

3A voice calls out: “In the wilderness clear the way of YHWH; make straight in the Arabah a highway for our Elohim.

The context

22So they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

23 · This verse (above)

24And they had been sent from the Pharisees.

Read all of John 1

To study John 1 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    What does the beginning of this chapter say about the Word: where it was, what it was, and what came to be through it? (vv. 1-14)

  2. 2. What it means

    John says those who received the Word were given authority to become children of God. What does “receiving him” mean in this chapter? (vv. 11-13)

  3. 3. How I live it

    Jesus asked the first disciples, “What are you looking for?” and invited them, “Come and you will see” (vv. 38-39). What are you looking for today?

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