19When the religious authorities in Jerusalem sent some Priests and Levites to ask John — “Who are you?”,
20he told them clearly and simply, “I am not the Christ.”
21“What then?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” “Are you ‘the prophet’?” He answered, “No.”
22“Who then are you?” they continued; “tell us so that we have an answer to give to those who have sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23“I,” he answered, “am — ‘The voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness: make a straight road for the Lord’, as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24These men had been sent from the Pharisees;
25and their next question was, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ or Elijah or ‘the prophet’?”
26John's answer was — “I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know;
27he is coming after me, yet I am not worthy even to unfasten his sandal.”
28This happened at Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and exclaimed, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30I was taking about him when I said ‘After me there is coming a man who ranks ahead of me, because before I was born he already was.’
31I did not know who he was, but I have come baptizing with water to make him known to Israel.”
32John also said: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on him.
33I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, he said to me ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him — he it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34This I have seen myself, and I have declared my belief that he is the Son of God.”
35The next day, when John was standing with two of his disciples,
36he looked at Jesus as he passed and exclaimed, “There is the Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him say this, and followed Jesus.
John 1
John 1:19-37