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

2He told people, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Do this now, because the kingdom of heaven has come very near.’ 3God's prophet Isaiah spoke about this man John long ago. He said: ‘Somebody's voice is shouting in the wilderness, “The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him to follow. Make the paths straight for him.” ’ John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness. 5Many people went to listen to John. They lived in Jerusalem and all over the country called Judea and many other places near the Jordan River. 6The people told God about all the wrong things that they had done. Then John baptized them in the Jordan River.

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 11:8Did you go to see a man who was wearing expensive clothes? No! People like that do not live in the wilderness. They live in kings' great houses.
• 2 Kings 1:8They replied, ‘He was wearing rough clothes. He had tied a leather belt around him.’ Then the king said, ‘That was Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe.’
• Zechariah 13:4On that day, every prophet will be ashamed that he was ever a prophet. He will not put on the clothes of a prophet that they make from hair. Then people will not know that he is a prophet.
• Malachi 4:5Look! I will send my prophet Elijah to you. He will come before that great day of the Lord arrives. That will be a day that makes people afraid.
• Mark 1:6John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness.
• Luke 1:17John will prepare the people for the Lord to come to them. The Holy Spirit will lead John as he led Elijah. John will do powerful things as Elijah did. He will help fathers to love their children. He will teach people who do not obey God. Then they will know what things are right. And they will do them. Then they will be ready when the Lord comes.’
• Revelation 11:3I will give authority to my two servants who speak my message clearly. They will tell people my messages for 1,260 days. They will wear rough clothes made from goats' hair.’
• Matthew 11:18People today are like those children. John the Baptist did not eat ordinary food. He never drank wine. So people say that he has a bad spirit in him.
• Leviticus 11:22They can eat any of these. They include the locust, the cricket and the grasshopper.
• Deuteronomy 32:13The Lord helped them to travel over the high places in the land. He fed them with food from the fields. He made them strong with honey from the rocks. He gave them olive oil from trees in ground with many stones.
• 1 Samuel 14:25Saul's army went into a forest. 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