Font Size
John 1:19-51
Holman Christian Standard Bible
John 1:19-51
Holman Christian Standard Bible
John the Baptist’s Testimony
19 This is John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem(A) sent priests(B) and Levites(C) to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He did not refuse to answer, but he declared: “I am not the Messiah.”(D)
21 “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?”(E)
“I am not,” he said.
“No,” he answered.
22 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord(G)[b]—just as Isaiah(H) the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.(I) 25 So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with[c] water,”(J) John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know Him. 27 He is the One coming after me,[d](K) whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”
28 All this happened in Bethany[e] across the Jordan,[f](L) where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God,(M) who takes away the sin(N) of the world! 30 This is the One I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’ 31 I didn’t know Him,(O) but I came baptizing with[g] water so He might be revealed(P) to Israel.”
32 And John testified, “I watched the Spirit(Q) descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him.(R) 33 I didn’t know Him, but He[h] who sent me to baptize with[i] water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with[j] the Holy Spirit.’(S) 34 I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”[k](T)
35 Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi”(U) (which means “Teacher”), “where are You staying?”
39 “Come and you’ll see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day. It was about 10 in the morning.[l]
40 Andrew,(V) Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Him. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”[m](W) (which means “Anointed(X) One”), 42 and he brought Simon to Jesus.
When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon, son of John.[n] You will be called Cephas”(Y) (which means “Rock”).
Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day He[o] decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip(Z) and told him, “Follow Me!”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida,(AA) the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael[p](AB) and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets(AC)): Jesus the son of Joseph,(AD) from Nazareth!”(AE)
46 “Can anything good(AF) come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.
“Come and see,” Philip answered.
47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite;(AG) no deceit is in him.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.
49 “Rabbi,”(AH) Nathanael replied, “You are the Son(AI) of God! You are the King of Israel!”(AJ)
50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You[q] will see greater things than this.” 51 Then He said, “I assure you: You[r] will see heaven opened and the angels of God(AK) ascending and descending(AL) on the Son of Man.”(AM)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 1:21 Probably the Prophet in Dt 18:15
- John 1:23 Is 40:3
- John 1:26 Or in
- John 1:27 Other mss add who came before me
- John 1:28 Other mss read in Bethabara
- John 1:28 Another Bethany, near Jerusalem, was the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary; Jn 11:1.
- John 1:31 Or in
- John 1:33 He refers to God the Father, who gave John a sign to help him identify the Messiah. Vv. 32-34 indicate that John did not know that Jesus was the Messiah until the Spirit descended upon Him at His baptism.
- John 1:33 Or in
- John 1:33 Or in
- John 1:34 Other mss read is the Chosen One of God
- John 1:39 Lit about the tenth hour. Various methods of reckoning time were used in the ancient world. John probably used a different method from the other 3 Gospels. If John used the same method of time reckoning as the other 3 Gospels, the translation would be: It was about four in the afternoon.
- John 1:41 In the NT, the word Messiah translates the Gk word Christos (“Anointed One”), except here and in Jn 4:25 where it translates Messias.
- John 1:42 Other mss read Simon, son of Jonah
- John 1:43 Or he, referring either to Simon Peter (vv. 41-42) or Andrew (vv. 40-41)
- John 1:45 Probably the Bartholomew of the other Gospels and Acts
- John 1:50 In Gk, the word you is sg and refers to Nathanael.
- John 1:51 In Gk, the word you is pl and refers to Nathanael and the other disciples.
John 1:19-51
New International Version
John 1:19-51
New International Version
John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah
19 Now this was John’s(A) testimony when the Jewish leaders[a](B) in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”(C)
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”(D)
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”(E)
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness,(F) ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[b](G)
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with[c] water,”(H) John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me,(I) the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”(J)
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,(K) where John was baptizing.
John Testifies About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,(L) who takes away the sin of the world!(M) 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’(N) 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.(O) 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water(P) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’(Q) 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[d](R)
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(S)
35 The next day John(T) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(U)
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi”(V) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(W) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(X) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[e]).(Y)
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(Z) he said to him, “Follow me.”(AA)
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(AB) 45 Philip found Nathanael(AC) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(AD) and about whom the prophets also wrote(AE)—Jesus of Nazareth,(AF) the son of Joseph.”(AG)
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(AH) Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(AI) in whom there is no deceit.”(AJ)
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(AK) you are the Son of God;(AL) you are the king of Israel.”(AM)
50 Jesus said, “You believe[f] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[g] you[h] will see ‘heaven open,(AN) and the angels of God ascending and descending(AO) on’[i] the Son of Man.”(AP)
Footnotes
- John 1:19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19.
- John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3
- John 1:26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)
- John 1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.
- John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.
- John 1:50 Or Do you believe … ?
- John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
- John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
- John 1:51 Gen. 28:12
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.