This verse begins literally, “he said, I (am),” which is followed by the quotation from Isaiah and then the statement “as Isaiah the prophet said,” Most translations render “he said” literally, but Phillips omits it altogether and depends upon the English punctuation to carry its force. Many translations mistakenly include John the Baptist’s “I am” as part of the quotation from Isaiah. The Good News Translation distinguishes between John’s own words and the included quotation from Isaiah be setting off the second in single quotes.
The statement following the quotation (“as Isaiah the prophet said”) is probably not part of the word of John the Baptist (as in Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, Goodspeed, Jerusalem Bible), but rather those of the writer of this Gospel (as in Good News Translation, New English Bible, New American Bible, Zürcher Bibel, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), to identify the source of the quotation for its readers. John’s hearers, of course, would immediately recognize the source. The fourth edition of Good News Translation places this information at the beginning of the verse: John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah, and New English Bible does likewise (see also New American Bible). Placing this statement at the beginning of the verse may indicate more clearly that the response of John the Baptist consists of a quotation from the prophet Isaiah. One can say “John answered by quoting what the prophet Isaiah said: I am ‘the voice…’ ” or “John spoke the words of the prophet Isaiah when he answered: I am ‘the voice…?’ ”
The quotation is from the Septuagint of Isaiah 40.3, where it differs slightly from the Hebrew text. Whereas the Septuagint connects the phrase “in the desert” with “the one who shouts” (that is, “Someone shouts in the desert, ‘Prepare a way…’ ”), the Hebrew text connects “in the desert” with the verb phrase “make a straight path” (that is, “Someone shouts, ‘Prepare a way in the desert…’ ”).
In some languages it is difficult to translate “I am the voice of someone shouting in the desert,” for it may be impossible to speak of a person being merely a voice. But one can say “My voice is like the voice of one who shouts in the desert.” In languages which have no noun for “voice” verbs must be used. An equivalent may be “When I shout, it is like one who shouts in the desert.”
The literal Greek expression “the way of the Lord” is explicit in Good News Translation: path for the Lord to travel.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .