Matthew 3:3

3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ¹ 

“The voice ²  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ³  his paths straight.’” ⁴ 

Matthew 11:7

11:7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ⁵  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁶ 

Matthew 24:26

24:26 So then, if someone ⁷  says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ ⁸  do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him.

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¹ tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

² tn Or “A voice.”

³ sn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

⁵ tn Or “desert.”

⁶ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.

⁷ tn Grk “they say.” The third person plural is used here as an indefinite and translated “someone” (ExSyn 402).

⁸ tn Or “in the desert.”