Now all this happened in order to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14], saying,

They replied to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what was written by the prophet [Micah 5:2],

They stayed there until Herod died, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying [Hosea 11:1], "I [i.e., God] called my Son out of Egypt."

This fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

For this is the man who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, who said, [Isa. 40:3], "[It is] the voice of a man who speaks out in the desert, [urging people to] make the road for the Lord ready [for Him to travel]; to make a straight pathway for Him [to walk on]."

[This was] so that what Isaiah the prophet had spoken would be fulfilled, saying,

This was in order to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, [Isa. 53:4], "[He] Himself took [care of] our [physical] weaknesses and carried [away] our diseases."

The person who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive the [same] reward the prophet gets. And the person who welcomes a good man because he is good will receive the [same] reward the good man gets.

Why did you go out [to the desert]? To see a prophet? Yes, I should say [he was], and much more than a prophet.

so what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled when he said,

But He said to them, "It is [only] an evil and unfaithful [i.e., to God] generation of people that looks for a [supernatural] sign. And there will not be any sign given to it except the [supernatural] sign [demonstrated in the life] of Jonah, the prophet.

[This was] so that what was spoken by the prophet would be fulfilled, when he said [Psa. 78:2], "I will open my mouth [to speak] with parables. I will say things that have been hidden from the beginning of time."

And they were led to doubt His true identity. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet does not go without being honored, except in His own home town and among His own family members."

Now Herod wanted to have him put to death, [but hesitated], fearing the crowd, because they considered John to be a prophet.

They replied, "Some say you are John the Immerser; some [the prophet] Elijah; and others [the prophet] Jeremiah, or one of the [other] prophets [come back to life]."

Now this will happen in order to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

The crowds answered, "He is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."

But if we say, 'from men,' we are afraid the crowd will oppose us because they all consider John to be a prophet."

When they attempted to arrest Him, [they hesitated because] they feared [what] the crowds [might do], since they considered Jesus a prophet.

"Therefore, when you see that disgusting thing which causes total destruction [i.e., the Roman armies. See Luke 21:20], which Daniel the prophet spoke about [Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11], standing in the sacred place [i.e., Jerusalem and especially the Temple area], (let the reader understand [what is meant by this]),

[Thus the prophecy] spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet [Note: The passage actually appears to be Zech. 11:12-13], was fulfilled which said, "And they took the thirty silver coins, the amount charged for Him on whom certain Israelites had set a price,

It was even written in Isaiah, the prophet [Note: Verse

Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet does not go without receiving honor, except in his own home town, and among his own relatives, and among his own family members."

But others said, "He is [the prophet] Elijah" [while] others said, "He is a prophet like one of the prophets [of old]."

And they answered Him, " [Some say] you are John the Immerser; others say [the prophet] Elijah, but others say [you are] one of the prophets."

But, should we say 'from men' [instead]?" Now they feared the people, for all of them considered John to be a true prophet.

Yes, you [my] child [i.e., John], will be called the prophet of the Highest [i.e., God], for you will go ahead of the Lord's presence to prepare His ways.

And there was a woman prophet named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher [i.e., she was a descendant of one of Jacob's son]. (She was very old, having lived with her husband for [only] seven years after being married,

This was according to what is written in the book containing the words of Isaiah, the prophet [Isa. 40:3ff], "The voice of a man who speaks out in the desert [urging people] to make the road for the Lord ready [for Him to travel]; to make a straight pathway for Him [to walk on].

The book [i.e., actually a scroll] of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He opened the book and found the passage where it was written [Isa. 61:1f],

And He said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his own home town.

And [while] there were many people with infectious skin diseases [living] in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet, none of them was healed except Naaman, the Syrian [who was also a Gentile]."

Then everyone was gripped with fear and gave honor to God, saying, " [Surely] a great prophet has arisen among us and God's [presence] has come to His people."

But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I will say [he is], and much more than a prophet.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who touched him and what kind of a woman she was --- a sinner."

some [were saying] that [the prophet] Elijah had appeared; and [still] others [were saying] that one of the [other] prophets of old had risen again [from the dead].

And they answered, " [Some say you are] John the Immerser, while others say [the prophet] Elijah, and [still others say] that one of the [other] prophets of old has risen again [from the dead]."

Nevertheless, I must continue to travel today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not possible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.

But if we say 'from men,' all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."

And He replied, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus, from Nazareth, who was a prophet speaking powerful words and performing powerful deeds in front of God and all the people.

So, they asked him, "Who then [are you]? Are you Elijah [i.e., returned from the dead]?" But he answered, "[No], I am not." "[Then], are you the prophet [i.e., Moses. See Deut. 18:15-19]?" they asked. And he answered, "No."

He replied, "I am the voice of a man who is calling out in the desert, [urging people to] 'Make the road for the Lord straight,' as Isaiah the prophet said, [Isa. 40:3]."

They asked him, "Why do you immerse people then, if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the prophet [Moses]?"

Nathaniel replied to him, "Can anything worthwhile come from Nazareth?" [Note: Nazareth had a bad reputation and Jewish writings made no prediction of a prophet coming from that area. See John 7:52]. Philip answered him, "Come and see."

[Then] the woman said to Jesus, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet does not receive honor in his own country. [Note: Jesus' reference here to his "own country" means Judea, while in Matt., Mark and Luke it refers to Nazareth].

So, when the people saw the [miraculous] sign that Jesus had performed [i.e., the feeding of the large crowd with such a small amount of food], they said, "Truly, this is the prophet who was to come into the world." [Note: This was probably a reference to the promise made in Deut. 18:15-19].

When they heard these words some people in the crowd said, "Truly, this man is the prophet." [See note on 1:21].

They answered him, "Are you from Galilee, too? Search [the Scriptures], and you will see that no prophet will come from Galilee." [Note: They were probably referring to "the prophet" predicted to come by Moses. Deut. 18:15]. {{Most ancient manuscripts do not contain the section from 7:53 through 8:11, or else place it elsewhere in the book.

So, they said to the [former] blind man again, "What do you have to say about the man, since [you say] he restored your sight?" The man replied, "He is a prophet."

This was so that these words, which Isaiah the prophet had spoken, would be fulfilled [Isa. 53:1], "Lord, who has believed our message? And who has the Lord's power been shown to?"

But what you see happening is simply [the fulfillment of] what was predicted by the prophet Joel [2:28ff],

Since he was a prophet and knew that God had pledged His word that one of his [i.e., David's] descendants would sit on his throne [as king];

Moses [expressed it when he] said [Deut. 18:15], 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; He will be like me [in some ways] and you must all pay attention to Him in everything He says to you.'

[Deut. 18:19 says], 'And it will be [at that time] that every person who does not listen to that prophet will be completely destroyed [spiritually] from among [God's] people.'

"This is the Moses who had said to the Israelites [Deut. 18:15], 'God will raise up a prophet from among your countrymen who will be like me [in some ways].'

But God turned [away from them] and allowed them to worship heavenly bodies [i.e., stars], just as it was written in the prophet [Amos 5:25ff], 'Did you offer me slain animals as sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, you Israelites?

However, the Highest [i.e., God] does not live in a house made by human beings, as the prophet said [Isaiah 66:1ff],

He was returning [to his home in Ethiopia] and was sitting in his chariot [Note: Chariots were stopped on long journeys occasionally for resting, eating, reading, etc.] reading [a scroll of] the prophet Isaiah.

So, Philip ran over to it and [when he got near enough] he heard the Ethiopian eunuch reading from Isaiah the prophet and asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

The [Ethiopian] eunuch then asked Philip "Please tell me, is the prophet [Isaiah] writing about himself or about someone else?"

When they had traveled across the whole island they came to Paphos [a town on the island of Cyprus]; [there] they met a certain magician named Bar-Jesus, who was a Jewish false prophet.

"After that He gave the people judges [i.e., local military rulers] until the time of Samuel the [first] prophet. [See 3:24].

As we waited there for a number of days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

And when they could not agree among themselves they left, after hearing Paul make this one [important] statement: "The Holy Spirit has spoken truthfully to your forefathers through Isaiah the prophet,

And the prophets' spirits are [to be] under the prophets' control [i.e., a prophet was to determine if or when he exercised his gift],

If any man thinks he is a prophet or has a spiritual gift, he should realize that the things I am writing to you are the Lord's commandment.

For we [apostles] are not like so many people, who "peddle" God's message merely for profit [or, "who corrupt God's message"], but in Christ's [service] we proclaim the message from God with sincerity, [realizing we are] in the presence of God.

But Balaam was rebuked for his own wrongdoing by a speechless donkey, who spoke out in a man's voice and prevented the prophet from continuing his foolishness.

And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; [one was] coming out of the mouth of the dragon, [one] out of the mouth of the beast, and [one] out of the mouth of the false prophet.

But the beast was captured, along with the false prophet [See 16:13], who performed [supernatural] signs in his presence. [He had performed these signs] to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his statue. [See 13:15-16]. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.

And the devil who [had] deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire, [burning] with sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet also are. [See 19:20]. And [there] these [enemies of God] will be tortured day and night forever and ever.