A voice cries: Since the speaker here is called A voice, it is not clear who this is. Most commentators agree that it is probably not Yahweh. It is also unlikely to be the prophet since this voice speaks to the prophet in verses 6-8, where the prophet refers to himself in the first person. A voice may be rendered “Someone” (Contemporary English Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), especially in a language where it is difficult to speak of “a voice shouting.” As in verse 2, the Hebrew verb for cries is better rendered “announces” or “proclaims.” “Cries out” in Good News Translation is another good model.
In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD: The messenger tells others to prepare a road for Yahweh. This line and the following parallel line refer to the road on which Yahweh will travel to Jerusalem. He will return to his people. Some commentators believe the road is for the people of Judah as the LORD leads them home from exile in Babylonia, but most scholars favor that it is for Yahweh coming to his people.
In the wilderness is the place where they are to make the road. The Gospels quote this verse and say it is the place where the voice is heard; for example, for the first two lines Matt 3.3 has “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord.” This New Testament reading is found in the NIV footnote|prj:NIV84.Isa 40.3 as an alternative model, but it should be ignored as an incorrect rendering of the Hebrew text. Translators must recognize the priority of the Hebrew text when translating Isaiah. For the Hebrew word rendered wilderness, see the comments on 14.17, where it is translated “desert.”
Prepare renders a plural imperative in Hebrew. Make straight in the next line is also a plural imperative. The text does not clarify who is to carry out these commands. Prepare the way of the LORD means to clear a path for him, removing any obstacles. For this whole line Revised English Bible translates “Clear a road through the wilderness for the LORD.”
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God is parallel to the previous line. Make straight … a highway refers to making a new road that is straight, not straightening an existing road, so Contemporary English Version says “Make a straight road.” It could also mean making a new road that is smooth. Good News Translation expresses this sense with “Clear the way” (similarly Bible en français courant). Another possible rendering is “Clear all obstacles out of the way.” The desert translates a Hebrew word that is literally “the Arabah.” For some commentators it refers to the dry valley south of the Dead Sea here (see the comments on 33.9), so it implies that Yahweh will come from the south to go to Jerusalem. But other commentators view “the Arabah” as synonymous in meaning with the wilderness, so it does not refer to any specific geographical location. For highway see the comments on 7.3. If possible, translators should use different words for way and highway, words that are similar in meaning. However, they should not choose words that refer to modern highways. Good News Translation has “road” and “way,” while Contemporary English Version uses “path” and “road.”
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• Someone announces: “In the wilderness prepare [plural] a path for Yahweh,
in the Arabah Desert make [plural] a straight road for our God.
• Someone gives the command, “In the wilderness prepare [plural] Yahweh’s path,
make [plural] a smooth road through the desert for our God.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .