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And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.

Regardless of how this is variously described or explained, the basic details are that

Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind without seeing death.
Elijah returned as a new baby named John. As a grown man he baptized with water.
Elijah (as Elijah) appeared in the Transfiguration along with Moses, who did die.. the location of his grave not revealed.

That's just what's in there to see on the face of the text.

The interpretations of this and many other words remind me of the message at the very end of the Gospel written by a man named John. Jesus said "x", but then the brethren ran off to spread their interpretation as if it were the same thing. John, however, was minded to set the record straight, to restate Jesus' actual words.

John sounds like he might have been the wet blanket (pedant) of the bunch.

John 21

22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Now for "some reason", John was the one who received the Revelation (discovery, disclosure) of Jesus Christ. The John who was the Baptist received the revelation of who was the Christ (having been instructed to watch for a dove).

Luke 9

30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:
31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease [lit. exodus] which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

Elijah returned as a new baby named John.

Who was

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

I've also come across this reference with the comma indicating that "in the desert" was spoken, such as:

Isa 40.3 A voice calls, "In the desert, clear the way of the Lord, straighten out in the wilderness, a highway for our God."

https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?tdate=7/26/1969&p=haftarah

Without original punctuation it could be either

The voice of one crying, "In the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."

Either way, the word for desert/wilderness is midbar, which is spelled the same as and plays off of and is "from a word" (or thing).

מְדַבֵּר
medaber

I / you m. sg. / he / it speak(s)

https://www.pealim.com/dict/2-ledaber/

"In the wilderness" is the name of what in English Bibles is known as the Book of Numbers, but math is hard..