Isa 40:3-5, Mal 4:6, Mat 3:1-12, 11:2-18, Mar 1:2-8, Luk 1:16-17, 76, 3:2-6 | ESV | STEP | A voice cries : In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God .

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 4:6

6 And he will ^hturn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and ⁱstrike 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 3:1-12

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 ^kIn those days ^lJohn the Baptist came preaching in ^mthe wilderness of Judea, 2 ⁿ“Repent, for ^othe kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

^p“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^q‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore ^sa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ^tlocusts and ^uwild 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, ^vconfessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of ^wthe Pharisees and ^xSadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^y“You brood of ^zvipers! Who warned you to flee from ^aathe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit ^abin keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^ac‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^adthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^aeEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 ^af“I baptize you with water ^agfor repentance, but ^ahhe who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ^aiwith the Holy Spirit and ^ajfire. 12 His ^akwinnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and ^algather his wheat into the barn, ^ambut the chaff he will burn with ^anunquenchable fire.”

Matthew 11:2-18

2 ^aoNow when John heard ^apin prison about the deeds of ^aqthe Christ, he sent word by ^arhis disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ^asthe one who is to come, or shall we ^atlook for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 ^authe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^awthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who ^axis not offended by me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^ayinto the wilderness to see? ^azA reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man ^{▼▼Or Why then did you go out? To see a man . . .} dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? ^bbA prophet? ^{▼▼Some manuscripts Why then did you go out? To see a prophet?} Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

^bd“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 ^beFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, ^{▼▼Or has been coming violently} and the violent take it by force. 13 ^bgFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^bhElijah who is to come. 15 ^biHe who has ears to hear, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit to hear} let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came ^bkneither eating ^blnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

Mark 1:2-8

2 ^bmAs it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts in the prophets}

^bo“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 ^bpthe voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^bq‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 ^bsJohn appeared, baptizing in ^btthe wilderness and proclaiming ^bua baptism of ^bvrepentance ^bwfor the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^bxconfessing their sins. 6 Now John was ^byclothed with camel’s hair and ^bzwore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^calocusts and ^cbwild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, ^cc“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 ^cdI have baptized you with water, but ^cehe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 1:16-17

16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and ^cfhe will go before him ^cgin the spirit and power of Elijah, ^chto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^cithe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^cjto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Luke 1:76

76 And you, child, will be called ^ckthe prophet of ^clthe Most High;
for ^cmyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

Luke 3:2-6

2 during ^cnthe high priesthood of Annas and ^coCaiaphas, ^cpthe word of God came to ^cqJohn the son of Zechariah in ^crthe wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming ^csa baptism of repentance ^ctfor the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in ^cuthe book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

^cv“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^cw‘Prepare the way of the Lord, ^{▼▼Or crying, Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord}
make his paths straight.
5 ^cyEvery valley shall be filled,
^czand every mountain and hill shall be made low,
^daand the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 ^dband all flesh shall see ^dcthe salvation of God.’”