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.”
Malachi 3:1
1 h“Behold, I send imy messenger, and jhe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord kwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and lthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.Malachi 4:5-6
5 m“Behold, I will send you nElijah the prophet obefore the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6And he will pturn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and qstrike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” ▼▼The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction
Matthew 3:1-11
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 sIn those days tJohn the Baptist came preaching in uthe wilderness of Judea, 2 v“Repent, for wthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,x“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
y‘Prepare ▼
▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness
the way of the Lord;make his paths straight.’”
4Now John wore aaa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ablocusts and acwild honey. 5Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, adconfessing their sins.
7But when he saw many of aethe Pharisees and afSadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ag“You brood of ahvipers! Who warned you to flee from aithe wrath to come? 8Bear fruit ajin keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ak‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from althese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. amEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 an“I baptize you with water aofor repentance, but aphe who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you aqwith the Holy Spirit and arfire.
Matthew 11:10
10This is he of whom it is written,as“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
Matthew 21:25
25The baptism of John, atfrom where did it come? auFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, av‘Why then did you not believe him?’John 1:33
33I myself did not know him, but awhe who sent me to baptize axwith water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, aythis is he who baptizes azwith the Holy Spirit.’John 3:28
28You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ba‘I am not the Christ, but bbI have been sent before him.’
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