Verse 3 Esaias; the Greek form of the Hebrew word Isaiah. (Isaiah 40:3.)--Prepare ye the way of the Lord. As monarchs, on their journeys, were preceded by a herald, summoning the inhabitants of the provinces through which they were to pass, to prepare, highway for the royal retinue, so John, the herald of the Messiah, called upon the people to prepare their hearts, by penitence and holy lives, for the spiritual religion of the Savior.