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 7:39
Context7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, 4 he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, 5 he would know who and what kind of woman 6 this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”
Luke 24:19
Context24:19 He 7 said to them, “What things?” “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied, “a man 8 who, with his powerful deeds and words, proved to be a prophet 9 before God and all the people;
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 The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
5 tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”
6 sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.
7 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
8 tn This translates the Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr).
9 sn The role of Jesus as prophet is a function Luke frequently mentions: 4:25-27; 9:35; 13:31-35.
