John 1:19-28
English Standard Version
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the (A)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, (B)“Who are you?” 20 (C)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? (D)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you (E)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 (F)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight[a] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, (G)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, (H)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even (I)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.
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- John 1:23 Or crying out, ‘In the wilderness make straight
John 1:19-28
International Standard Version
The Testimony of John the Baptist(A)
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[a] sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself,[b] admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”[c]
21 So they asked him, “Well then, are you Elijah?”
John[d] said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 “Who are you?” they asked him. “We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He replied, “I am
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those men[g] had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah,[h] or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, “I am baptizing with[i] water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This happened in Bethany[j] on the other side[k] of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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- John 1:19 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 1:20 Lit. and did not deny
- John 1:20 Or Christ
- John 1:21 Lit. He
- John 1:23 MT source citation reads Lord’s
- John 1:23 Cf. Isa 40:3
- John 1:24 Lit. Now they
- John 1:25 Or Christ
- John 1:26 Or in
- John 1:28 Other mss. read Bethabara
- John 1:28 I.e. the east side
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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