John 1:19–28

A Voice in the Wilderness

¹⁹And this is ^athe witness of John, when ^bthe ¹Jews sent to him priests and Levites ^cfrom Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “^aI am not the ¹Christ.”

²¹And they asked him, “What then? Are you ^aElijah?” And he ^*said, “I am not.” “Are you ^bthe Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

²²Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

²³He said, “I am ^aa voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the ¹Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.

²⁵And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ¹Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^athe Prophet?”

²⁶John answered them, saying, “^aI baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.

²⁷“This One is ^aHe who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the ^bstrap of His sandal.”

²⁸These things took place in Bethany ^abeyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.