John 1:15–28

¹⁵(^fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ^g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) ¹⁶For from ^hhis fullness we have all received, ⁱgrace upon grace.^{5 17}For ^jthe law was given through Moses; ^kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ^18lNo one has ever seen God; ^mGod the only Son, who⁶ is at the Father’s side,^{7 n}he has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹And this is the ^otestimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ^p“Who are you?” ^20qHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹And they asked him, “What then? ^rAre you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you ^sthe Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³He said, “I am ^tthe voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight⁸ the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) ²⁵They asked him, ^u“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶John answered them, ^v“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, ²⁷even ^whe who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.