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 of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” 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. 5People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6And when they confessed their sins, he 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 11:8Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.
• 2 Kings 1:8They replied, “He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.” “Elijah from Tishbe!” the king exclaimed.
• Zechariah 13:4“On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes.
• Malachi 4:5“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.
• Mark 1:6His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
• Luke 1:17He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
• Revelation 11:3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
• Matthew 11:18For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’
• Leviticus 11:22The insects you are permitted to eat include all kinds of locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.
• Deuteronomy 32:13He let them ride over the highlands and feast on the crops of the fields. He nourished them with honey from the rock and olive oil from the stony ground.
• 1 Samuel 14:25even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest.

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