Discovery BoxLuke 3:4 
Context3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice 1 of one shouting in the wilderness: 2
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make 3 his paths straight.
Luke 18:31
Context18:31 Then 4 Jesus 5 took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, 6 and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 7
Luke 24:44
Context24:44 Then 8 he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me 9 in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms 10 must be fulfilled.”
1 tn Or “A voice.”
2 tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).
3 tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.
4 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
7 tn Or “fulfilled.” Jesus goes to Jerusalem by divine plan as the scripture records (Luke 2:39; 12:50; 22:37; Acts 13:29). See Luke 9:22, 44.
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
9 sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.
10 sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.
