As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB As it is written in the prophets, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you:
- BSB As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
- NKJV As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”
- NASB just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending My messenger before You, Who will prepare Your way;
- NLT just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Mark grounds Jesus' coming in prophecy, quoting God's promise to send a messenger to prepare His way. The gospel is the fulfillment of long-awaited Scripture.
Overview
Mark blends Malachi 3:1 with Isaiah 40:3 (under the heading 'the prophets') to show John the Baptist as the forerunner. The 'messenger' prepares the way before a coming Lord, underscoring that Jesus' arrival was no accident but the climax of God's plan. Strikingly, words spoken of preparing the way for the LORD (Yahweh) are applied to Jesus, quietly affirming His divine identity.
Cross-references & the web
Quotation
- Mal 3:1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Cross-references · 13
- Mal 3:1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Matt 11:10For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
- Luke 1:76And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
- Matt 3:1–11In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
- Luke 1:15–17For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
- Luke 7:27–28This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
- Ps 40:7Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
- Matt 26:31Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
- Luke 1:70As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
- Matt 2:5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
- Matt 26:24The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
- Luke 3:2–16Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
- Luke 18:31Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 1:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.