▼tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 9.

▼sn The reference to soft clothing suggests that John was not rich or powerful, nor did he come from the wealthy or ruling classes. The crowds came out into the wilderness not to see the rich and famous, but to see a prophet.

▼tn Grk “houses.” Cf. BDAG 698 s.v. οἶκος 1.a.β, “of any large building οἶκος τοῦ βασιλέως the king’s palace.”