Luke 20:3–8
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 cBut and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: dfor 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.
Luke 20:3–8 — The New International Version (NIV)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — English Standard Version (ESV)
3 He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” 5 And 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, ‘From man,’ 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, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Luke 20:3–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — New Century Version (NCV)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Luke 20:3–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
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.
Luke 20:3–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
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.”
Luke 20:3–8 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
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.”