John 1:19-28
Christian Standard Bible
John the Baptist’s Testimony
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem(A) sent priests(B) and Levites(C) to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He didn’t deny it but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”(D)
21 “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?” (E)
“I am not,” he said.
“Are you the Prophet?” (F)
“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[a](G)—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[b] water,”(J) John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him. 27 He is the one coming after me,[c](K) whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.” 28 All this happened in Bethany[d] across the Jordan,(L) where John was baptizing.
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John 1:19-28
New Living Translation
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants[a] from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”[b]
“No.”
22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”[c]
24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”
26 John told them, “I baptize with[d] water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”
28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
