Matthew 3:4

Matthew 3:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
• New International Version (NIV)John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Context of Matthew 3:4

2“Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3This is the one who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the road for the Lord, Make His highways straight (level, direct)!’ ” Now this same John had clothing made of camel’s hair and a [wide] leather band around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

Matthew 3:4 word by word

Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ· ἡ δὲ τροφὴ ἦν αὐτοῦ ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andδέde · thenG1161
• the sameαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
• hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• raimentἔνδυμαenduma · clothingG1742
• ofἀπόapo · away fromG575
• camel’sκάμηλοςkamēlos · camelG2574
• hairθρίξthrix trichos · hairG2359
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• a leathernδερμάτινοςdermatinos · made of leatherG1193
• girdleζώνηzōnē · belt/sash/girdleG2223
• aboutπερίperi · aboutG4012
• loinsὀσφῦςosphus · loinsG3751
• meatτροφήtrophē · foodG5160
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• locustsἀκρίςakris · locustG200
• wildἄγριοςagrios · wildG66
• honeyμέλιmeli · honeyG3192

Cross-references for Matthew 3:4

• Matthew 11:8What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing [entirely unsuited for the harsh desert]? Those who wear soft clothing are in the palaces of kings!
• 2 Kings 1:8They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a [wide] leather band bound around his loins.” And Ahaziah said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
• Zechariah 13:4And in that day the [false] prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not wear a hairy robe [of true prophets] in order to deceive,
• Malachi 4:5“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
• Mark 1:6John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a [wide] leather band around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
• Luke 1:17It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”
• Revelation 11:3And I will grant authority to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth.”
• Matthew 11:18For John came neither eating nor drinking [with others], and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
• Leviticus 11:22Of these you may eat: the whole species of migratory locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper.
• Deuteronomy 32:13He made him (Israel) ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He made him suck honey from the rock, And [olive] oil from the flinty rock,
• 1 Samuel 14:25All the people of the land came to a forest, and there was honey on the ground.

Commentaries on Matthew 3:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4His raiment of camel's hair - A sort of coarse or rough covering, which, it appears, was common to the prophets, Zechariah 13:4. In such a garment we find Elijah clothed, 2 Kings 1:8. And as John had been designed under the name of this prophet, Malachi 4:5, whose spirit and qualifications he was to possess, Luke 1:17, he took the same habit and lived in the same state of self-denial. His meat was locusts - . may either signify the insect called the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4His raiment of camel‘s hair - His clothing. This is not the fine hair of the camel from which our elegant cloth is made called camlet, nor the more elegant stuff brought from the East Indies under the name of “camel‘s hair,” but the long shaggy hair of the camel, from which a coarse cheap cloth is made, still worn by the poorer classes in the East, and by monks. This dress of the camel‘s hair, and a leather belt, it seems, was the common dress of the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4John wore the same kind of clothes and ate the same kind of food as Elijah, a prophet who had lived many years before (2 Kings 1:8; Malachi 4:5; Sirach 48:10–11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair--woven of it. and a leathern girdle about his loins--the prophetic dress of Elijah (2Ki 1:8; and see Zec 13:4). and his meat was locusts--the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor (Le 11:22). and wild honey--made by wild bees (1Sa 14:25, 26). This dress and diet, with the shrill cry in the wilderness, would recall the stern days of Elijah.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 3:4

• Camel
• Girdle
• Honey
• Leather
• Locust
• Minister, Christian
• Stoicism

In the dictionaries

• Camel's Hair
• Apparel
• Camel
• Dress
• Dromedary
• Elijah
• Girdle
• Honey
• John the Baptist
• Kingdom

Commentaries on Matthew 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings