2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

2 And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? 6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. 7 And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. 8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

2 They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

3 “Let me ask you a question first,” he replied. 4 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

5 They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. 6 But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.” 7 So they finally replied that they didn’t know.

8 And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”

2 and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

3 But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: 4 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

2 saying, “Tell us what authority you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

3 Jesus answered, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 When John baptized people, was that authority from God or just from other people?”

5 They argued about this, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘It was from other people,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they believe John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they didn’t know where it came from.

8 Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.”

2 and they spake, saying unto him, Tell us: By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3 And he answered and said unto them, I also will ask you a question; and tell me: 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why did ye not believe him? 6 But if we shall say, From men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. 7 And they answered, that they knew not whence it was. 8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

2 and spoke to him saying, Tell us by what authority thou doest these things, or who is it who has given thee this authority? 3 And he answering said to them, I also will ask you one thing, and tell me: 4 The baptism of John, was it of heaven or of men? 5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say, Why have ye not believed him? 6 but if we should say, Of men, the whole people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. 7 And they answered, they did not know whence. 8 And Jesus said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

2 They asked him, “Tell us, what gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?” 

3 Jesus answered them, “I, too, have a question for you. Tell me, 4 did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?” 

5 They talked about this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘from humans,’ everyone will stone us to death. They’re convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they didn’t know who gave John the right to baptize. 

8 Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you why I have the right to do these things.” 

2 and said to Him: “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Who is it who gave You this authority?”

3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell Me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

5 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered that they did not know its origin.

8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

2 and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?” 3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” 5 They discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

2 and said, saying to him, “Tell us, by what authority you are doing these things, or who is the one who gave you this authority? 3 And he answered and said to them, “I also will ask you a question, and you tell me: 4 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? 5 And they discussed this with one another, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 And they replied that they did not know where it was from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they all said. “Who gave you this authority?”

3 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 was John’s baptism from heaven? Or did it come from men?”

5 They talked to each other about it. They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will throw stones at us and kill us. They believe that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know where John’s baptism came from.”

8 Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.”

2 and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”

3 Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me:

4 “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

5 They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

6 “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from.

8 And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”