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“This is a voice of one
    who ·calls out [shouts; cries out] in the ·desert [wilderness]:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
    Make ·the road straight [a clear path] for him [Is. 40:3].’”

John [C the Baptist] was baptizing people in the ·desert [wilderness] and preaching a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [turning from sin; repentance] for the ·forgiveness [remission] of sins. All the people from Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him. They confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

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“There is someone shouting in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
    Make the road straight for him.’” (A)

So John the Baptizer came and was baptizing people in the desert area. He told them to be baptized to show that they wanted to change their lives, and then their sins would be forgiven. All the people from Judea, including everyone from Jerusalem, came out to John. They confessed the bad things they had done, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.

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