John the Baptizer announced the coming of Jesus, and he baptized many people who heard his message.

Matthew 3:1-6

3 While Jesus was still in Nazareth town, John, whom the people called the Baptizer, went to a desolate place in Judea district. 2 He was preaching to the people who came there. He kept saying, “You need to turn away from your sinful behavior, because God [MET] will soon begin to rule over people, and he will reject you if you do not turn away from your sinful life.” 3 John was the person who fulfilled what was said by Isaiah the prophet {what Isaiah the prophet predicted when he said}, long ago:

In a desolate area ◄people will hear someone/someone will be heard► shouting to the people who pass by,

Prepare yourselves to receive the Lord when he comes!

Make yourselves ready so that you will be prepared when he comes [MET, DOU], just like people improve and straighten out the road for an important official!

4 John wore coarse clothing made from camel’s hair. And as the prophet Elijah did long ago, he wore a leather belt around his waist. His food was only grasshoppers and honey that he found in that desolate area. 5 People who lived in Jerusalem city [MTY], many [HYP] people who lived in other places in Judea district [MTY], and many [HYP] people who lived in the area around the Jordan River [MTY] came to John to hear him preach. 6 After they heard him tell them to turn away from their sinful behavior, they openly confessed their sins, and as a result they were baptized by John {John baptized them} in the Jordan River.