LUKE 3:4 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
⇔ “A voice of one calling out in the wilderness,
⇔ ‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
⇔  make his paths straight.

UST When John preached like this, the words came true that the prophet Isaiah wrote on a scroll long ago:
⇔ “In the desolate place, someone will be calling out to the people:
⇔ ‘Prepare yourselves to receive the Lord!
⇔ Make yourselves ready for when he comes!’

BSB as it is written in [the] book of [the] words of Isaiah [the] prophet:
⇔ “[A] voice of one calling in the wilderness,
⇔ ‘Prepare the way for [the] Lord,
⇔ make straight paths for Him.

BLB as it has been written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'

AICNT as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, [[saying]][fn] “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make {his}[fn] paths straight.

3:4, saying: Later manuscripts add. BYZ TR

3:4, his: D(05) reads “your.”

OEB This was in fulfilment of what is said in the writings of the prophet Isaiah –
⇔ “The voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness:
⇔ ‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
⇔ make his paths straight.

WEBBE As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
⇔ “The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
⇔ ‘Make ready the way of the Lord.
⇔ Make his paths straight.

WMBB As it is written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
⇔ “The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
⇔ ‘Make ready the way of the Lord.
⇔ Make his paths straight.

NET As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
⇔  “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness:
⇔  ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
⇔  make his paths straight*.

LSV as it has been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD,
Make His paths straight;

FBV As Isaiah the prophet wrote: “A voice was heard crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord: make his paths straight.

TCNT as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
⇔ “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
⇔ ‘Prepare the way for the Lord;
⇔ make his paths straight.

T4T John was the one who fulfilled these words that had been written by the prophet Isaiah {that the prophet Isaiah had written} on a scroll long ago:
¶ In a desolate area, someone [SYN] 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,
¶ just like people straighten out the road [MET] for an important official [MET, DOU]!

LEB as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
• “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
• ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
• make his paths straight!

BBE As it says in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight.

Moff as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah,
⇔ The voice of one who cries in the desert,
⇔ 'Make the way ready for the Lord,
⇔ level the paths for him.

Wymth as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying aloud! `In the Desert prepare ye a road for the Lord: make His highway straight.

ASV as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
⇔ The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
⇔ Make ye ready the way of the Lord,
⇔ Make his paths straight.

DRA As it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

YLT as it hath been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths;

Drby as it is written in [the] book of [the] words of Esaias the prophet: Voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of [the] Lord, make straight his paths.

RV as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight.
(as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye/you_all ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. )

SLT As it has been written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his footpaths straight.

Wbstr As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

KJB-1769 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
(As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye/you_all the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. )

KJB-1611 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the Prophet, saying, The voyce of one crying in the wildernesse, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps As it is writte in ye booke of the wordes of Esaias the prophete, saying: The voyce of a cryer in wyldernesse, prepare ye the way of ye Lorde, make his pathes strayght.
(As it is writte in ye/you_all book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying: The voice of a cryer in wilderness, prepare ye/you_all the way of ye/you_all Lord, make his paths straight.)

Gnva As it is written in the booke of the sayings of Esaias the Prophet, which saith, The voyce of him that crieth in the wildernes is, Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make his paths straight.
(As it is written in the book of the sayings of Esaias the Prophet, which saith/says, The voice of him that crieth/cries in the wilderness is, Prepare ye/you_all the way of the Lord: make his paths straight. )

Cvdl As it is wrytte in ye boke of ye sayenges of Esaye the prophet, which sayeth: The voyce of a cryer in the wyldernes: prepare the waye of the LORDE, and make his pathes straight.
(As it is written in ye/you_all book of ye/you_all sayings of Esaye the prophet, which saith/says: The voice of a cryer in the wilderness: prepare the way of the LORD, and make his paths straight.)

TNT at it is written in the boke of the sayinges of Esaias the Prophet which sayeth: The voyce of a cryar in wyldernes prepare the waye of the Lorde make hys pathes strayght.
(at it is written in the book of the sayings of Esaias the Prophet which saith/says: The voice of a cryar in wilderness prepare the way of the Lord make his paths straight. )

Wycl As it is wrytun in the book of the wordis of Isaye, the prophete, The voice of a crier in desert, Make ye redi the weie of the Lord, make ye hise pathis riyt.
(As it is written in the book of the words of Isaye, the prophet, The voice of a crier in desert, Make ye/you_all ready the way of the Lord, make ye/you_all his paths right.)

Luth wie geschrieben stehet in dem Buch der Reden Jesaja‘s, des Propheten, der da sagt: Es ist eine Stimme eines Predigers in der Wüste: Bereitet den Weg des HErr’s und machet seine Steige richtig!
(as/like written stands in to_him book the/of_the Reden Yesaya‘s, the prophet(s), the/of_the there says: It is a/one voice one/a preacher in the/of_the desert: Prepare the way/path/road the LORD’s and makes his steep_track correct!)

ClVg sicut scriptum est in libro sermonum Isaiæ prophetæ: [Vox clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini; rectas facite semitas ejus:[fn]
(like written it_is in/into/on book of_speeches Isaiæ the_prophets: [The_voice crying in/into/on in_the_desert: Parate way/road Master; correct do_it path his: )

3.4 Vox clamantis. Vox, quia prænuntius verbi. In deserto. Quia desertæ et destitutæ Judææ solatium redemptionis annuntiat. Nullum verbum sine voce auditur, nec vox sine verbi intelligentia valet. Parate viam Domini, etc. Qui fidem et bona opera prædicat, quid aliud quam venienti Domino? ad corda audientium viam parat, ut hæc vis gratiæ illustret, ut rectas Deo semitas faciat, dum mundas cogitationes in animo per sermonem prædicationis format.

3.4 The_voice crying. Vox, because beforenuntius words. In in_the_desert. Because deserted and destitute Yudahæ alonetium redemption announces. None the_word/saying without voice hearingr, but_not voice without words intelligence valet. Parate way/road Master, etc. Who faith and good(s) works preach, what something_else how they_will_comei Master? to hearts of_listeners way/road parat, as these_things you_want thanks illustret, as correct to_God path let_him_do, while cleans thoughts in/into/on in_mind through conversation preaching formt.

UGNT ὡς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου, φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου; εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ.
(hōs gegraptai en biblōi logōn Aʸsaiou tou profaʸtou, fōnaʸ boōntos en taʸ eraʸmōi, hetoimasate taʸn hodon Kuriou; eutheias poieite tas tribous autou.)

SBL-GNT ὡς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ ⸀προφήτου· Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ.
(hōs gegraptai en biblōi logōn Aʸsaiou tou ⸀profaʸtou; Fōnaʸ boōntos en taʸ eraʸmōi; Hetoimasate taʸn hodon kuriou, eutheias poieite tas tribous autou.)

RP-GNT ὡς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου, λέγοντος, Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου· εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ.
(hōs gegraptai en biblōi logōn Aʸsaiou tou profaʸtou, legontos, Fōnaʸ boōntos en taʸ eraʸmōi, Hetoimasate taʸn hodon kuriou; eutheias poieite tas tribous autou.)

TC-GNT ὡς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου, [fn]λέγοντος,
⇔ Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ,
⇔ Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου·
⇔ εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ.
(hōs gegraptai en biblōi logōn Aʸsaiou tou profaʸtou, legontos,
⇔ Fōnaʸ boōntos en taʸ eraʸmōi,
⇔ Hetoimasate taʸn hodon Kuriou;
⇔ eutheias poieite tas tribous autou. )

3:4 λεγοντος ¦ — CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–20: John the Baptizer prepared the way for Jesus

The last event in Luke 2 describes Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem when he was twelve years old. This section begins about eighteen years later. At the beginning of chapter 3, both Jesus and John the Baptizer were about thirty years old. Both men were ready to begin public ministry.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

The Preaching of John (NCV)

John the Baptist and Jesus (REB)

John the Baptizer tells people to prepare themselves for the Messiah

Parts of Luke 3:1–20 are basically the same as verses in Matthew 3:1–12. But Luke 3:1–2, 10–14, and 19–20 are not in Matthew.

Paragraph 3:4–6

About seven hundred years before John the Baptizer was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote about him. He wrote that someone would announce to people that the Lord was coming and that they should get ready for him (Isaiah 40:3–5). John the Baptizer fulfilled this prophecy.

Isaiah wrote that people should prepare the way/road for the Lord. This is a metaphor. When the Jewish people expected a king to come through their village, they prepared the road for him. John was telling the people to prepare themselves to receive the Lord by repenting. The Lord was coming to them as the Messiah (Jesus). (See Christ in the Glossary.)

3:4a

as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

¶ This happened as the prophet Isaiah wrote long ago in his book. He wrote:
¶ This was foretold in the holy writings by Isaiah the prophet. He wrote this about John:

as it is written: The phrase as it is written connects the facts about John in 3:3 to the prophecy about him in the book of Isaiah. The things that John did and said fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah foretold in the Scriptures.

Some other ways to say this are:

John did these things just as the Bible had said he would.

This was foretold in the Holy Writings.

in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: The phrase in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet refers to the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. This is the book where Isaiah the prophet wrote the messages that God gave him. Some ways to say this are:

in the book of the prophecies of Isaiah (REB)

in the book of Isaiah’s messages

In some languages it may be more natural to translate 3:4a as a clause or sentence. For example:

Isaiah wrote these things in his book. He said….

Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said…. (CEV)

prophet: A prophet was a person who spoke on behalf of God. He told people what God revealed to him.

Sometimes God told prophets about events that had not yet happened so that the prophets could tell people before the events happened. However, God gave the prophets many other messages that did not involve foretelling the future. Try to translate the word prophet with a term that refers to a person who brings any type of message from God. For example:

a spokesman for God

a person who speaks God’s words

God’s message-speaker

When you choose a term for prophet, you will need to distinguish prophet from other words with similar meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”

This word also occurs in 1:76b. See also prophet in the Glossary.

3:4b

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

“Someone will announce in the desert,
“Someone is shouting in the wilderness, saying,

Luke 3:4b–6 is a quote from Isaiah 40:3–5. You will probably want to include this information in a cross-reference or footnote in your translation.

A voice of one calling in the wilderness: Isaiah was writing about something that would happen seven hundred years later. Use a verb form that is natural for a prophecy about the future. In English it is possible to use either the present or the future tense:

A voice calls in the desert.

A voice will call in the desert.

A voice of one calling: The voice is the voice of a person proclaiming a message. In some languages it may be natural to translate this as:

A man is calling

Someone will proclaim

calling: The Greek word that the BSB translates as calling means to shout or to speak loudly. Some ways to translate calling in this context include:

announce/announcing

shout/shouting

speaking/saying loudly

wilderness: The Greek word that the BSB translates as wilderness here was also used in 3:2. See the note on 3:2b.

3:4c–3:6

In these verses Isaiah used a metaphor. The “voice” was not literally talking about making roads better. It was talking about people, implying that they needed to repent to prepare for the coming of the Lord. In some cultures, readers may not understand the meaning of this metaphor. If that is true for your culture, you may wish to include a footnote. For example:

When Jewish people knew a king would come through their village, they would make the road good for him. Isaiah compared this action to John telling the people to prepare themselves for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, by repenting from their sins.

These verses are quotations of Hebrew poetry. You may wish to print them in a special way to distinguish them from other verses.

3:4c

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

‘Prepare^(plur) a road for the Lord to come/travel on.
‘Make^(plur) ready a path for the Lord God.

Prepare the way for the Lord: Here Isaiah used the metaphor of preparing a road to urge people to prepare themselves morally for the Lord to come.

In some cultures, readers may not understand the meaning of this metaphor. If that is true for your culture, you will have to indicate the meaning more explicitly. The note for 3:4c–6 has examples of using footnotes to do this. Some other ways to do this are:

Use a simile. For example:
As you would prepare a road for a king, prepare your hearts/minds/lives for the Lord
Express the meaning without the metaphor. For example:
Prepare yourselves to receive the Lord with integrity/honesty

This verse refers to people preparing themselves in a moral and spiritual way. Your translation should not imply that they should prepare themselves only in a physical way, such as by cleaning their houses.

way: The Greek word that the BSB translates as way refers to a “road” or a “path.”

Lord: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Lord means “master, one who has authority over others.” The Jews used this word as one way to refer to God. Here it substitutes for God’s personal name that was used in the Hebrew Old Testament. In this context, the word Lord indicates that God was coming to people as the Messiah.

If speakers of your language do not understand that your word for “Lord” refers to God in this context, here are other ways to translate it:

Use your word for God.
Use your word for God and indicate that he is the Lord. For example:
God the Lord
Master God

If you include the word for God in your translation of Lord, you may want to include a footnote to give the literal Greek meaning. For example:

Here the Greek text is literally “Lord.”

See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

3:4d

make straight paths for Him.

Make^(plur) the paths straight for him.
Make^(plur) them/it straight for him.

This part of the verse is parallel to 3:5c and has a similar meaning. The difference is that 3:5c is slightly more specific. In Hebrew poetry, the same meaning was often repeated in different words.

make straight paths for Him: The clause make straight paths for Him may be expressed more fully as “make the paths straight for the Lord to travel on.”

paths: The Greek word that the BSB translates as paths has a similar meaning as the word “roads.” In some languages the same word may be used to translate both “road” and “path.” If that is true in your language, you may be able to translate paths as “small/little roads,” or you may be able to use a pronoun such as “it.” For example:

^4cPrepare the road for the Lord, ^4dmake it straight for him.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ὡς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου

as ˱it˲_˓has_been˒_written in ˓the˒_scroll ˱of˲_˓the˒_words ˱of˲_Isaiah the prophet

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form. Alternate translation: [As the book says that records the sayings of the prophet Isaiah]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου

˱of˲_˓the˒_words ˱of˲_Isaiah the prophet

Luke is using the term words to refer to the sayings that Isaiah used words to articulate. Alternate translation: [the sayings of the prophet Isaiah]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotemarks

φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὡς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ λόγων Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου Φωνή βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ Ἑτοιμάσατε τήν ὁδόν Κυρίου εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τάς τρίβους αὐτοῦ)

From this phrase through to the end of [3:6](../03/06.md), Luke quotes from the book of Isaiah. It may be helpful to your readers to indicate this by setting off all of this material with quotation marks or with whatever other punctuation or convention your language uses to indicate a quotation.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ

The term voice refers to what this person is saying by association with the means they are using to say it. Alternate translation: [Someone is calling out in the wilderness and saying]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου; εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ

Everything from this phrase through to the end of [3:6](../03/06.md) is a quotation within a quotation. Luke is quoting from the book of Isaiah, and Isaiah is quoting the words of the person calling out in the wilderness. It would be best to indicate that by punctuating this material as a second-level quotation, since Luke is quoting from Scripture. However, if your language does not put one direct quotation within another, you can translate this material as an indirect quotation.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου; εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ

These two phrases mean similar things. They are both telling people to make a good road for the Lord to travel on. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and it would be helpful to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation rather than combining them. However, if the repetition might be confusing, you could connect the phrases with another phrase that would show the relationship between them. Alternate translation: [Prepare a good road for the Lord to travel on, and do this by making sure that it follows a straight path]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου

This is a figurative way of telling people to get ready to listen to the Lord’s message when it comes. They are to do this by giving up their sins. Alternate translation: [Give up your sins so that you will be ready to listen to the Lord’s message when it comes]