³And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: ⁴The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? ⁵And 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. ⁷And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. ⁸And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

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Footnotes

cSee Matt. 24:48.
dSo ch. 7:29.

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In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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

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

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

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

CSBChristian Standard Bible

He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know its origin.

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

NLTNew Living Translation

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

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

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

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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