MAT 3:4 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 Now this John had his clothing from the hair of a camel and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

UST As for this man John, he wore rough clothes that he made out of camel’s hair. He fastened around his waist a belt that he made from animal skin. He ate grasshoppers and honey that he found in that desolate area.

BLB And John himself had his garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

AICNT Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

OEB John’s clothes were made of camels’ hair, with a leather strap round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

WEBBE Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

WMBB Now Yochanan himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

NET Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.

LSV And this John had his clothing of camel’s hair, and a girdle of skin around his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field.

FBV John had clothes made of camel hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts[fn] and wild honey.

3:4 Probably locust beans.

TCNT § Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

T4T 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.

LEB ¶ Now John himself had his clothing made from camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

BBE Now John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather band about him; and his food was locusts and honey.

Moff This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey.

Wymth This man John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a loincloth of leather; and he lived upon locusts and wild honey.

ASV Now John himself had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

DRA And the same John had his garment of camels’ hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

YLT And this John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a girdle of skin round his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field.

Drby And John himself had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and wild honey.

RV Now John himself had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
(Now John himself had his raiment/clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey. )

SLT And this John had his garment from camel’s hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Wbstr And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

KJB-1769 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
(And the same John had his raiment/clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. )

KJB-1611 And the same Iohn had his raiment of camels haire, and a leatherne girdle about his loynes, and his meate was locusts and wilde hony.
(And the same Yohn had his raiment/clothing of camels hair, and a leatherne girdle about his loins, and his meat was locusts and wild honey.)

Bshps This Iohn had his rayment of Camels heere, and a girdle of a skynne about his loynes, his meate was locustes, and wylde hony.
(This Yohn had his raiment/clothing of Camels hair, and a girdle of a skin about his loins, his meat was locusts, and wild honey.)

Gnva And this Iohn had his garment of camels heare, and a girdle of a skinne about his loynes: his meate was also locusts and wilde hony.
(And this Yohn had his garment of camels hear, and a girdle of a skin about his loins: his meat was also locusts and wild honey. )

Cvdl This Ihon had his garment of camels heer, and a lethre gerdell aboute his loynes. Hys meate was locustes and wylde hony.
(This Yohn had his garment of camels hair, and a lethre girdle about his loins. Hys meat was locusts and wild honey.)

TNT This Ihon had hys garmet of camels heer and a gerdell of a skynne aboute his loynes. Hys meate was locustes and wylde hony.
(This Yohn had his garment of camels hair and a girdle of a skin about his loins. Hys meat was locusts and wild honey. )

Wycl And this Joon hadde clothing of camels heeris, and a girdil of skynne aboute hise leendis; and his mete was honysoukis, and hony of the wode.
(And this Yohn had clothing of camels hairs, and a girdle of skin about his leendis; and his meet was honeysoukis, and honey of the wode.)

Luth Er aber, Johannes, hatte ein Kleid von Kamelhaaren und einen ledernen Gürtel um seine Lenden; seine Speise aber war Heuschrecken und wilder Honig.
(He but, Yohannes, had a garment from camel_hair and a leather belt/girdle(n) around/by/for his lumbar; his food but what/which locusts and wildr honey.)

ClVg Ipse autem Joannes habebat vestimentum de pilis camelorum, et zonam pelliceam circa lumbos suos: esca autem ejus erat locustæ, et mel silvestre.[fn]
(Exactly_that however Yoannes had clothing from/about hair camels, and pursem pelliceam around/about waist his_own: food however his was locusts, and honey silvestre. )

3.4 Ipse autem Joannes. Qui pœnitentiam prædicat, habitum pœnitentiæ prætendit. In eo vilitas vestis et cibi laudatur, quorum usus in divite arguitur. Ipse autem Joannes in semetipso erudit pœnitentes, et formam vitæ exhibet in deserto habitans, de locustis vivens, pilos cameli vestiens. Servus Dei non debet habere vestimentum ad decorem vel ad delectationem, sed tantum ad tegendam nuditatem. Inde Joannes pilis vestiebatur.

3.4 Exactly_that however Yoannes. Who repentance preach, dressm of_repentance beforetendit. In by_him cheapness clothing and food is_praised, whose use(n) in/into/on divite arguesur. Exactly_that however Yoannes in/into/on myself instructs penitents, and form of_life exhibet in/into/on in_the_desert living, from/about locustis living, hair cameli vestiens. Servus of_God not/no must to_have clothing to beauty or to pleasure/delightnem, but only to tegendam nuditatem. Inde Yoannes hair vestiebatur.

UGNT αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ, ἡ δὲ τροφὴ ἦν αὐτοῦ ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.
(autos de ho Yōannaʸs eiⱪen to enduma autou apo triⱪōn kamaʸlou kai zōnaʸn dermatinaʸn peri taʸn osfun autou, haʸ de trofaʸ aʸn autou akrides kai meli agrion.)

SBL-GNT αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ, ἡ δὲ τροφὴ ⸂ἦν αὐτοῦ⸃ ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.
(autos de ho Yōannaʸs eiⱪen to enduma autou apo triⱪōn kamaʸlou kai zōnaʸn dermatinaʸn peri taʸn osfun autou, haʸ de trofaʸ ⸂aʸn autou⸃ akrides kai meli agrion.)

RP-GNT Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου, καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ· ἡ δὲ τροφὴ αὐτοῦ ἦν ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.
(Autos de ho Yōannaʸs eiⱪen to enduma autou apo triⱪōn kamaʸlou, kai zōnaʸn dermatinaʸn peri taʸn osfun autou; haʸ de trofaʸ autou aʸn akrides kai meli agrion.)

TC-GNT § Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ [fn]Ἰωάννης εἶχε τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου, καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ· ἡ δὲ τροφὴ [fn]αὐτοῦ ἦν ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.
( § Autos de ho Yōannaʸs eiⱪe to enduma autou apo triⱪōn kamaʸlou, kai zōnaʸn dermatinaʸn peri taʸn osfun autou; haʸ de trofaʸ autou aʸn akrides kai meli agrion. )

3:4 ιωαννης ¦ ιωανης WH

3:4 αυτου ην ¦ ην αυτου CT

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–12: John the Baptist taught people to repent and obey God

The story starting at 3:1 occurred about twenty-eight years after 2:23. Matthew did not tell what happened during those twenty-eight years. But he restarted the story at this time in Jesus’ life because Jesus was ready to begin the work that God gave him to do. He began at the time God chose for him.

John the Baptist was the last prophet before Jesus. The story of how John was born is in Luke chapter 1. He was the prophet whom God said would come (3:3). John wore the kind of clothes prophets often wore (3:4). He baptized people who repented. John preached that Jesus would be greater than he was (3:11).

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The work of John the Baptist/Baptizer

The work of John who baptized people

John the Baptizer preached repentance and submission to God’s rule

John the Baptizer prepared people to receive the Lord

There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 1:1, Luke 3:1–18 and John 1:19–28.

3:4

Verse 3:4 is background information. It speaks about John’s simple clothes and simple food while he lived in the wilderness. His simple lifestyle and clothing indicated to the people of that day that he was a prophet. He resembled the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). You may want to put this information in a footnote.

3:4a

John wore a garment of camel’s hair,

¶ John wore clothes that were made from camel’s hair.
¶ As for John, he wore a robe that people had woven from a desert animal’s hair.

In the Greek, 3:4a begins with a common Greek conjunction that is often translated as “now” (ESV). Here it functions to introduce new information about John the Baptist. The BSB and many English versions do not translate this conjunction here. Introduce this background information in a way that is natural in your language.

John wore a garment of camel’s hair: John wore clothes that were made from the hair of an animal called a camel. A camel is a large, domesticated animal that carries people and cargo in the desert. People wove a rough kind of cloth made from the hair of this animal.

If camels are not known in your area, you could:

Transliterate the word camel and explain the term in the text. For example:
John’s clothes were made from the hair of a large desert animal called a camel
Transliterate the word camel and explain the term in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:
A camel is a large domesticated animal that carries people and cargo in the desert.
Translate using a general term:
The clothes that John wore were made from coarse hair of a desert animal

garment: The word garment is a general word that refers to all types of clothes. Here is probably refers to John’s outer robe or tunic.

Here is another way to translate this word:

clothes (NIV)

3:4b

with a leather belt around his waist.

He wore a leather strap around his waist.
He tied his robe around his waist with a cord/rope of animal skin.

with a leather belt around his waist: The phrase leather belt refers to a strip of animal skin tied around the waist. It kept one’s outer robe close to the body. It also made it possible to tuck up the robe in order to walk or run unhindered.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

and he wore a long strip of animal skin around his waist

and he tied his clothes around his waist with an animal skin rope

3:4c

His food was locusts and wild honey.

His food was large grasshoppers and honey from wild bees.
He ate locusts/grasshoppers and honey.

His food was locusts: The word locusts refers to a large kind of grasshopper. They are insects which jump and can fly. Large numbers of locusts frequently migrate together to eat and destroy crops. People who live in the desert sometimes eat locusts.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

His food was large grasshoppers

He ate large insects/bugs that jump and fly

wild honey: The phrase wild honey refers to honey that wild bees of the desert made. People found it under rocks or in cracks between rocks. It was not honey made by bees that people raised.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

honey of wild bees

honey

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-background

αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: αὐτός Δέ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τό ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπό τριχῶν καμήλου καί ζώνην δερματίνην περί τήν ὀσφύν αὐτοῦ ἡ δέ τροφή ἦν αὐτοῦ ἀκρίδες καί μέλι ἄγριον)

Matthew uses the word Now to introduce background information that will help readers understand what happens next. The word does not introduce another event in the story. This background information is found in [3:4–6](../03/04.md). Use a natural form in your language for introducing background information. Alternate translation: [Concerning this John, he]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου

˓was˒_having (Some words not found in SR-GNT: αὐτός Δέ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τό ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπό τριχῶν καμήλου καί ζώνην δερματίνην περί τήν ὀσφύν αὐτοῦ ἡ δέ τροφή ἦν αὐτοῦ ἀκρίδες καί μέλι ἄγριον)

The phrase had his clothing from the hair of a camel means that he wore clothes made from camels’ hair. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [wore clothing made from the hair of camels]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

ζώνην δερματίνην

˓a˒_belt leather

A leather belt is a thin strap made out of animal skin that holds clothing in place. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of clothing, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [an animal skin strap] or [a band made from animal skin]

Parallel MAT 3:4

Section 3:1–12: John the Baptist taught people to repent and obey God

3:4

3:4a

3:4b

3:4c