John 1:15–28

^15xJohn bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ^y‘He who comes after me ⁶is preferred before me, ^zfor He was before me.’ ”

¹⁶⁷And of His ^afullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷For ^bthe law was given through Moses, but ^cgrace and ^dtruth came through Jesus Christ. ^18eNo one has seen God at any time. ^fThe only begotten ⁸Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John’s Witness to the Priests and Levites

Matt. 3:1–12; Mark 1:2–8; Luke 3:3–16

¹⁹Now this is ^gthe testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

^20hHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you ⁱthe Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

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

²³He said: ^j“I am

^k‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶John answered them, saying, ^l“I baptize with water, ^mbut there stands One among you whom you do not know. ²⁷ⁿIt is He who, coming after me, ⁹is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

²⁸These things were done ^oin ¹Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.