John 1:23 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

John 1:21 And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No.

John 1:22 They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself?

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 Isaias.

John 1:24 And they that were sent were of the Pharisees.

John 1:25 And they asked him and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "voice", "crying", "wilderness", "make", "straight", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "voice", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "They said therefore unto him Who art..." into verse 24's "And they that were sent were of...", so "said" and "voice" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "said" and "voice" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.