Mark 1:7

cometh present tense. With prophetic foresight the Baptist sees Him already come and in the midst.

latchet diminutive of latch, like the Fr. lacetdim. of lace, comes from the Latin laqueus= a "noose," and means anything that catches. We now only apply latch to the catch of a door or gate. We speak of a "shoe- lace," and "lace" is radically the same word. Here it denotes the thong or fastening by which the sandal was fastened to the foot; comp. Genesis 14:23; Isaiah 5:27. The office of bearing and unfastening the sandals of great personages fell to the meanest slaves.

to stoop down This expression is peculiar to St Mark. It is the first of those minute details which we shall find in such abundance in his Gospel.