English Standard Version
Matthew 3:4
4Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
Context of Matthew 3:4
2"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'" Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Read all of Matthew 3Matthew 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 then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
- 2 Kings 1:8They answered him, "He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
- Zechariah 13:4"On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive,
- Malachi 4:5"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
- Mark 1:6Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
- Luke 1:17and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
- Revelation 11:3And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."
- Matthew 11:18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'
- Leviticus 11:22Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.
- Deuteronomy 32:13He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field, and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.
- 1 Samuel 14:25Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries