A Voice in the Wilderness

¹⁹ And this is ^(A)the witness of John, when ^(B)the ^[a]Jews sent to him priests and Levites ^(C)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “^(D)I am not the ^[b]Christ.” ²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you ^(E)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(F)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am ^(G)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the ^[c]Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ^[d]Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^(H)the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, saying, “^(I)I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ This One is ^(J)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the ^(K)strap of His sandal.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany ^(L)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ On the next day, he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, ^(M)the Lamb of God who ^(N)takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He of whom I said, ‘^(O)After me comes a man who has been ^[e]ahead of me, ^(P)for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not know ^[f]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water.” ³² And John ^(Q)bore witness saying, “^(R)I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abided on Him. ³³ And I did not know ^[g]Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The One upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on Him, ^(S)this is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I myself have seen, and have borne witness that this is ^(T)the Son of God.”