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a. Referring to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great

b. A tetrarch was a Roman position, lower in rank than a king, as a governor over a quarter/quadrant. He was the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Perea was the Roman province east of the Jordan River.

c. Referring to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great

d. The high priesthood was held for a period by members of the same family: It began with Annas, followed by two others, and then it was held by Caiaphas.

e. Traditionally, the word rhema is typically translated as ‘word’ or ‘utterance’ and is related to the word for ‘flow.’ It’s a vivid word that conveys the breath flowing out and carrying a person’s voice with it as they speak.

f. The name ‘John’ is the English version of the Latin version of the Greek transliteration (Ioannes) of the Hebrew name Yohanan or in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, Johanan, which means “God has been gracious” or “My God is gracious.”

g. While this word can refer to undeveloped, wild areas in general, It was also the name of a specific region east of the Dead Sea. That region was the location of the Essene community of Qumran, where many speculate Johanan (John) resided. Additionally, the ‘wilderness’ in the Hebrew Bible is consistently used to represent chaos and scarcity, neglect of needs, sense of threat and hostility, and the place where those things originate, a return to the formlessness and emptiness preceding Creation.

h. In English, translations have traditionally simply taken the Greek word and put it in English letters: ‘baptize.’ The historical reason for this was that the first translators of the Bible into English practiced infant baptism, and the Greek word literally means ‘dip’ or ‘immerse something in a liquid,’ it didn’t fit with their doctrine and practice. Other languages translate it fully, so in Dutch, for example, John is known as ‘John the Dipper.’ In addition to the literal action of dipping or immersing in the water, this is clearly a reference to ceremonial cleansing, preparing people for a sacred calling.

i. The Greek word metanoia is traditionally translated as ‘repent.’ The meaning of metanoia is ‘change the mind.’ It does not mean ‘remorse’ or ‘reforming behavior.’ The confusion comes from the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, which used paenitere, which means ‘to be penitent,’ which was a significant shift away from the Greek meaning.

j. The word here, traditionally translated as “forgive,” is never directed toward a person but always directed toward what the person owes. For example, it would not be accurate to phrase it as “forgive us for our debts” but rather “forgive our debts for us.” It’s about sending away, distancing, releasing, letting go, separating from oneself, abandoning or disconnecting from something.

k. The word in Greek here is hamartia, traditionally translated ‘sin.’ The actual meaning is an archery term for missing the target; it’s a metaphor. The idea is not that it is bad behavior or rule breaking. The word torah is the noun version of the Hebrew verb for ‘shoot’ an arrow and ‘send’ instruction. Hamartia is veering off course, the course traced out by Torah that leads to New Creation/God’s Reign/The Great Jubilee-Shabbat. Much of what is referred to as ‘deviation’ is about actions that don’t align with Torah, but some of it is about states of being that don’t align with Torah’s vision of all things well, including illness and injury, which cannot be treated as moral failing in any way. The English word ‘sin’ on the other hand, comes from a root with an entirely different meaning; it derives from the Old English synn, which meant ‘wrongdoing’ or ‘guilt,’ which in turn derived from the Latin word sons, meaning ‘guilty.’

l. In the Hebrew Bible, this phrase is connected to where the paths should be prepared; however, in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the phrase in the wilderness is attached to where the shouting is done. The quotation here reflects the Septuagint, which is why it is not included in the punctuation surrounding “Prepare the path of The One Who Is,” but to attempt to acknowledge the discrepancy, it has been set on its own line between the preceding and following phrases.

m. “The One Who Is” is used to translate the Greek kurios (traditionally, “Lord”) when it refers to God, especially in Hebrew Bible quotations. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), kurios regularly replaces the Divine Name (YHWH), following an earlier Jewish oral tradition in which readers would say Adonai (“my Lord”) aloud wherever the written text read YHWH. The Jewish community attempted to honor the command “You will not take my name in vain” by not speaking it aloud at all. The practice of saying Adonai preserved reverence for the sacred Name while making the text speakable in public worship. Translating kurios as “The One Who Is” recovers the theological resonance of YHWH, which is linguistically connected to the Hebrew root haya (“to be”). In Exodus 3:14, God self-identifies as Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh (“I will be who I will be” or “I am who I am”), using the first-person imperfect form ehyeh. The third-person equivalents—yihyeh (“he is” or “he will be” [in an ongoing way]), haya (“he was” [or time-limited, completed way]), and the rare participle howeh (“being” or “the one who is”)—suggest that YHWH blends all three in a fusion of past, present, and future being as well as presence both in particular moments and an ongoing reality. Early Jewish and Christian interpreters, including in Revelation 1:8 and 4:8, echoed this understanding in phrases like “the one who was, and is, and is to come.” Rendering kurios as “The One Who Is” is an attempt to honor the Name’s linguistic roots while resisting the patriarchal and hierarchical connotations carried by “Lord” in English. It also recalls the liberating presence of the Name given from the burning bush in Exodus as The One Who Is began moving to liberate the oppressed people of Israel.

n. Literally ‘of him.’

o. Or ‘level’

p. Traditionally, ‘all flesh.’ The Greek phrase pasa sarx repeats the Hebrew idiom kol basar, meaning every creature of mortal flesh, every body susceptible to injury, illness, weakness, and death. It appears here, shortly before the genealogy (Luke 3:23-38) that reaches from Jesus back to Adam and creation itself, reinforcing that God’s liberation embraces every people group and every kind of body.

q. Quotation of Isaiah 40:3-6

r. The name is added here for clarity. The name ‘John’ is the English version of the Latin version of the Greek transliteration (Ioannes) of the Hebrew name Yohanan or in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, Johanan, which means “God has been gracious” or “My God is gracious.”

s. See Psalm 140:3 and Isaiah 59:5.

t. See Jeremiah 25:34-38

u. Or ‘a crop’

v. Literally, ‘then’

w. Christos is the Greek translation of the Hebrew meshiah which has traditionally been transliterated as Messiah (and Christ) but translated would literally be “anointed.” The definition of ‘anointed’ is to be ‘smeared with ointment or oil’ and the biblical significance of anointing is to be selected by God (or a prophet of God) for a special appointment, usually king and sometimes other roles like priest or prophet, and experience a ceremony in which the prophet places oil on the head to signify that appointment.

x. The word ‘strong’ is added for clarity.

y. Traditionally, ‘holy’

z. Traditionally, ‘Spirit.’ The Greek word pneuma could be used to refer to ‘wind,’ ‘breath,’ or an animating energy within people, thought to be perceptible in the breath. Hebrew and Latin also use the same word for all these concepts. In scripture, it typically calls back the image to Genesis 1 and 2: “the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2 NASB) and “the Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into [its] nostrils. The human came to life.” (Genesis 2:7 CEB).

aa. A tool for sorting the grains from the husks

bb. This phrase is accurate to the meaning of the Greek, but it is interpretive in a way that reflects this translator’s bias. More traditional translations of ‘unquenchable fire’ or ‘eternal fire’ also reflect their translators’ bias and presuppositions. Translating this and many other words and phrases without bias is impossible. The word in Greek literally means ‘not quenched’ and in the context of threshing grain, can validly imply not being quenched before the task is complete. There is nothing in the context to suggest it is supposed to be about afterlife.

cc. Traditionally, ‘proclaim the gospel’ or ‘announce the good news.’ The word ‘gospel’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon term god-spell, which means ‘good story.’ The Greek euangelion literally means ‘good message’ and was used specifically of a message announced publicly, which fits the use of the word ‘news.’ The historical context comes from when rulers and military leaders returned to a city after victory in battle, and a herald would be sent ahead to announce the victory and the ruler’s impending arrival. The writers of the Bible took this word and applied it to Jesus’ victory of a different kind. The use of “message of triumph” here is intended to communicate the full meaning of the word in context and not the narrow dictionary definition.

dd. Referring to Herod Antipas