Mark 1:2-4

Living Bible

²In the book written by the prophet Isaiah, God announced that he would send his Son^[a] to earth, and that a special messenger would arrive first to prepare the world for his coming.

³“This messenger will live out in the barren wilderness,” Isaiah said,^[b] “and will proclaim that everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord’s arrival.”

⁴This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.^[c]

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Footnotes

Mark 1:2 his Son, implied.
Mark 1:3 Isaiah said. Some ancient manuscripts read, “the prophets said.” This quotation, unrecorded in the book of Isaiah, appears in Malachi 3:1. be ready for the Lord’s arrival, literally, “make ready the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”
Mark 1:4 so that God could forgive them, literally, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”