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.

3 “I will send my messenger,^(A) who will prepare the way before me.^(B) Then suddenly the Lord^(C) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,^(D) whom you desire,^(E) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah^(A) to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.^(B)

¹⁵ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.^(A) You must listen to him.