John 1:23 (YLT)

Passage

He said, `I <FI>am<Fi> a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.'

Nearby Context

John 1:21 And they questioned him, `What then? Elijah art thou?' and he saith, `I am not.' --`The prophet art thou?' and he answered, `No.'

John 1:22 They said then to him, `Who art thou, that we may give an answer to those sending us? what dost thou say concerning thyself?'

John 1:23 He said, `I <FI>am<Fi> a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.'

John 1:24 And those sent were of the Pharisees,

John 1:25 and they questioned him and said to him, `Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, 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 then to him Who art..." into verse 24's "And those sent were of the Pharisees...", 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.