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    A voice proclaims:[a]
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!
    Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 40:3–5 A description of the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem (Zion). The language used here figuratively describes the way the exiles will take. The Lord leads them, so their way lies straight across the wilderness rather than along the well-watered routes usually followed from Mesopotamia to Israel. Mt 3:3 and gospel parallels adapt these verses to the witness of John the Baptizer to Jesus.

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way(A) for the Lord[a];
make straight(B) in the desert
    a highway for our God.[b](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
  2. Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God

Chapter 3

The Messenger of the Covenant

(A)Now I am sending my messenger—
    he will prepare the way before me;[a]
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
    see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:1 My messenger…before me: Mt 11:10 applies these words to John the Baptist; Mt 11:14 further identifies John as Elijah (see Mal 3:23). Some take God’s messenger in v. 1a to be a person distinct from “the lord” and “the messenger of the covenant” in v. 1b; others hold that they are one and the same person. Some consider “the lord” and “the messenger of the covenant” to be divine, while others hold that in the text’s literal sense he is a messianic earthly ruler.

“I will send my messenger,(A) who will prepare the way before me.(B) Then suddenly the Lord(C) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,(D) whom you desire,(E) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

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[a]It was of him that the prophet Isaiah(A) had spoken when he said:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 3:3 See note on Jn 1:23.

This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3

10 This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
    he will prepare your way before you.’(A)

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10 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,(A)
    who will prepare your way before you.’[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 11:10 Mal. 3:1