John 1:15-34
New American Standard Bible
15 John *(A)testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘(B)He who is coming after me has proved to be [a]my superior, (C)because He existed before me.’” 16 For of His (D)fullness [b]we have all received, and [c]grace upon grace. 17 For (E)the Law was given through Moses; (F)grace and (G)truth [d]were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 (H)No one has seen God at any time; (I)God the only Son, who is (J)in the [e]arms of the Father, (K)He has [f]explained Him.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 This is (L)the testimony of John, when (M)the Jews sent priests and Levites to him (N)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny; and this is what he confessed: “(O)I am not the [g]Christ.” 21 And so they asked him, “What then? Are you (P)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you (Q)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (R)the voice of one calling [h]out in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 And the messengers had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the [i]Christ, nor Elijah, nor (S)the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, saying, “(T)I baptize [j]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 It is (U)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the (V)strap of His sandal.” 28 These things took place in Bethany (W)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people.
29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, (X)the Lamb of God who (Y)takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘(Z)After me is coming a Man who has proved to be [k]my superior, (AA)because He existed before me.’ 31 And I did not recognize [l]Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing [m]in water.” 32 And John (AB)testified, saying, “(AC)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 And I did not recognize [n]Him, but He who sent me to baptize [o]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, (AD)this is the One who baptizes [p]in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is (AE)the [q]Son of God.”
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- John 1:15 Lit before me
- John 1:16 Lit we all received
- John 1:16 Lit grace for grace
- John 1:17 Lit came to be
- John 1:18 Lit chest; or possibly lap
- John 1:18 I.e., given a detailed account of
- John 1:20 I.e., Messiah
- John 1:23 Or out, In the wilderness make the way
- John 1:25 I.e., Messiah
- John 1:26 The Gr here can be translated in, with, or by
- John 1:30 Lit before me
- John 1:31 I.e., as the Messiah
- John 1:31 The Gr here can be translated in, with, or by
- John 1:33 I.e., as the Messiah
- John 1:33 The Gr here can be translated in, with, or by
- John 1:33 The Gr here can be translated in, with, or by
- John 1:34 One early ms Chosen One of
John 1:15-34
Amplified Bible
15 John testified [repeatedly] about Him and [a]has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [b]has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’” 16 For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. 17 For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ.(A) 18 No one has seen God [His essence, His divine nature] at any time; the [One and] only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome wonder of the Father].(B)
The Testimony of John
19 This is the testimony of John [the Baptist] when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed [truthfully] and did not deny [that he was only a man], but acknowledged, “I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the [promised] Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”(C) 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”(D)
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize [only] [c]in water, but among you there stands One whom you do not recognize and of whom you know nothing.(E) 27 It is He [the preeminent One] who comes after me, the [d]strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie [even as His slave].” 28 These things occurred in Bethany across the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing], where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God [e]who takes away the sin of the world!(F) 30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’ 31 [f]I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah]; but I came baptizing [g]in water so that He would be [publicly] revealed to Israel.” 32 John gave [further] evidence [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], saying, “I have seen the [h]Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.(G) 33 I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah], but He who sent me to baptize [i]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this One is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have [actually] seen [that happen], and my testimony is that this is the Son of God!”
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- John 1:15 Here John the writer uses the Greek perfect tense (“has cried out”), emphasizing the truth and continuing importance of John the Baptist’s testimony.
- John 1:15 Lit has become before (in front of) me, because He was first of me. The Greek is difficult because John the Baptist was making a word-play on the adverbs/adjective “after” (or “behind”), “before,” and “first.” The playful wording assumes the form of a riddle which, like some of Jesus’ parables, conceals the speaker’s meaning from those who are hostile toward him and have neither the patience nor the spiritual inclination to learn from him.
- John 1:26 The Greek here can be translated in, with or by.
- John 1:27 During this era it was customary for a household servant to remove a guest’s sandals and wash the dust from his feet. John is saying that he is not worthy even to remove Christ’s sandal, let alone to touch His feet.
- John 1:29 John is referring to the fulfillment of the need for the OT Passover lambs which was now fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice, the ultimate and final sacrifice for sins.
- John 1:31 John the Baptist and Jesus were related through their mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, but He was unknown as the Messiah until God revealed it to John at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
- John 1:31 The Greek here can be translated in, with or by.
- John 1:32 The descent of the Holy Spirit identified Jesus in His humanity for His ministry as the Messiah.
- John 1:33 The Greek here can be translated in, with or by.
John 1:15-34
King James Version
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
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John 1:15-34
English Standard Version
15 ((A)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, (B)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from (C)his fullness we have all received, (D)grace upon grace.[a] 17 For (E)the law was given through Moses; (F)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (G)No one has ever seen God; (H)the only God,[b] who is at the Father's side,[c] (I)he has made him known.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the (J)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, (K)“Who are you?” 20 (L)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? (M)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you (N)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (O)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight[d] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, (P)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, (Q)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even (R)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Behold, the Lamb of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, (S)the Lamb of God, who (T)takes away the sin (U)of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, (V)‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but (W)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John (X)bore witness: (Y)“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and (Z)it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but (AA)he who sent me to baptize (AB)with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, (AC)this is he who baptizes (AD)with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son[e] of God.”
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
