Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
Parallel translations
- WEB John was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.
- KJV And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
- BSB John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- NASB John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
- NLT His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
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
John's rough clothing and simple diet mark him as a prophet in the mold of Elijah. His appearance signals his God-given role.
Overview
The camel's hair garment and leather belt deliberately recall Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), whom Malachi promised would come before the day of the Lord. John's austere desert life embodied his message of repentance and detachment from comfort. Jesus later confirms John fulfills the Elijah expectation, preparing the way for the Messiah.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Kgs 1:8They answered him, “He was a hairy man, and wearing a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”
- Lev 11:22Even of these you may eat: any kind of locust, any kind of katydid, any kind of cricket, and any kind of grasshopper.
- Matt 3:4Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Zech 13:4It will happen in that day, that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision, when he prophesies; neither will they wear a hairy mantle to deceive:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 1:6 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.