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15 for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.[a] He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,(A) 16 and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah[b] to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 1:15 He will drink neither wine nor strong drink: like Samson (Jgs 13:4–5) and Samuel (1 Sm 1:11 LXX and 4QSama), John is to be consecrated by Nazirite vow and set apart for the Lord’s service.
  2. 1:17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah: John is to be the messenger sent before Yahweh, as described in Mal 3:1–2. He is cast, moreover, in the role of the Old Testament fiery reformer, the prophet Elijah, who according to Mal 3:23 (Mal 4:5) is sent before “the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”