Isa 40:3-5, 49:6, Dan 12:3, Mal 3:1, Mat 3:1-6, 21:32, Luk 1:76 | ESV | STEP | A voice cries : In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God .

al ver. 17; ch. 3:4; 7:27; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:2, 3

Isaiah 40:3-5

3 ^aA voice cries: ^{▼▼Or A voice of one crying}
^c“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
^dmake straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 ^eEvery valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 ^fAnd the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
^gfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 49:6

6 he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
^hI will make you ⁱas a light for the nations,
that ^jmy salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Daniel 12:3

3 ^kAnd those who are wise ^lshall shine like the brightness of the sky above; ^{▼▼Hebrew the expanse; compare Genesis 1:6–8} and ⁿthose who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Malachi 3:1

1 ^o“Behold, I send ^pmy messenger, and ^qhe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^rwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^sthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Matthew 3:1-6

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 ^tIn those days ^uJohn the Baptist came preaching in ^vthe wilderness of Judea, 2 ^w“Repent, for ^xthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

^y“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^z‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore ^aba garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ^aclocusts and ^adwild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^aeconfessing their sins.

Matthew 21:32

32 For John came to you ^afin the way of righteousness, and ^agyou did not believe him, but ^ahthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^aichange your minds and believe him.

Luke 1:76

76 And you, child, will be called ^ajthe prophet of ^akthe Most High;
for ^alyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,