King James Version

John 1:23

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

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Greek

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ἔφηephēHe saidφημί (phēmi)Greek uses a different stem for this verb’s past forms.verb, imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular — “He said”, an ongoing action in the pastG5346I say, declare.He saidἘγὼegōIἐγώpersonal pronoun, nominative, singular — “I”, the subject formG1473I, the first-person pronoun.Iφωνὴphōnēam the voiceφωνήnoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “am the voice”, the subject formG5456a sound, noise, voice, language, dialect.This verse uses “voice”.am the voiceβοῶντοςboōntosof one cryingβοάω (boaō)verb, present active participle, genitive, singular, masculine — “of one crying”, an ongoing or repeated actionG994I shout, call aloud, proclaim.of one cryingἐνeninἐνpreposition — “in”G1722in, on, among.inτῇtētheὁ (ho)article, dative, singular, feminine — “the”, the to- or for-formG3588the, the definite article.ἐρήμῳerēmōwildernessἔρημος (erēmos)adjective, dative, singular, feminine — “wilderness”, the to- or for-formG2048as an adj: deserted, desolate, waste; hence: the desert, to the east and south of Palestine; of a person: deserted, abandoned, desolate.the wildernessΕὐθύνατεeuthunateMake straightεὐθύνω (euthunō)verb, aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural — “Make straight”, a single actionG2116(a) I make straight (of the direction, not the surface, of a road), (b) I guide, steer.This verse uses “make straight”.Make straightτὴνtēntheὁ (ho)article, accusative, singular, feminine — “the”, the object formG3588the, the definite article.ὁδὸνhodonwayὁδός (hodos)noun, accusative, singular, feminine — “way”, the object formG3598a way, road, journey, path.the wayκυρίουkuriouof the Lordκύριος (kurios)noun, genitive, singular, masculine — “of the Lord”, the of-formG2962lord, master, sir; the Lord.This verse uses “lord”.of the Lordκαθὼςkathōsasκαθώςconjunction — “as”G2531according to the manner in which, in the degree that, just as, as.asεἶπενeipento sayλέγω (légō)Greek uses a different stem for this verb’s past forms.verb, aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular — “to say”, a single actionG3004(denoting speech in progress), (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.This verse uses “say”.Strong’s files this form under G2036 (ἔπω, speak/say).saidἨσαΐαςēsaiasEsaiasἨσαΐαςnoun, nominative, singular, masculine — “Esaias”, the subject formG2268Isaiah, the prophet.Esaiasὁhotheὁarticle, nominative, singular, masculine — “the”, the subject formG3588the, the definite article.προφήτηςprophētēsprophetπροφήτηςnoun, nominative, singular, masculine — “prophet”, the subject formG4396a prophet, poet; a person gifted at expositing divine truth.

Literal (Young’s Literal Translation)

He said, 'I [am] a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.'

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.

Young’s Literal Translation

He said, 'I [am] a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.'

World English Bible

He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Darby Translation

He said, I [am] [the] voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the path of [the] Lord, as said Esaias the prophet.

Douay-Rheims

He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias.

Fulfills

Isaiah 40:3 Isaiah 40:3 · King James VersionThe voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.Isaiah 40:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source
forerunner: voice in the wilderness · NT explicit, Edersheim’s rabbinic list
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Cross-references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. How This List Was Built. See the Full Map.

The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.