John 1:19-37

¹⁹The Jewish leaders SYN in Jerusalem city sent some Jewish priests and ◄Levites/men who worked in the temple► to where John was, to ask him some questions. They said to him, “What do you claim about yourself?”

²⁰So John told them the truth, and he told them clearly DOU. He said, “ I am not ◄the Messiah/God's chosen king►!”

²¹Then they asked him, “Then what do you say about yourself? Are you the prophet Elijah that was prophesied to return {◄ someone/another prophet► prophesied would return} before the Messiah?” He replied, “No, I am not.” Then they asked him, “Are you the prophet like Moses that ◄ we are waiting for/God promised to send►?” He replied, “No.”

²²So they asked him, “Then who do you claim to be? Tell us so that we can go back and report to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³John replied, “ I am the one the prophet Isaiah said would proclaim this new message loudly to the people who would pass by in this desolate area: ‘Prepare yourselves to receive the Lord when he comes MET, just like people prepare a road for an important official.

²⁴Some of those people who were questioning John were ones who had been sent by the Pharisee religious group {whom the Pharisee religious group had sent}.

²⁵They asked John, “Since you say you are not the Messiah, nor the prophet Elijah, nor the prophet like Moses, what authority do you have? Furthermore, why are you baptizing Jews, treating them as though they were non-Jews who wanted to become Jews?”

²⁶John replied, “I am just baptizing people with water to prepare them to welcome the Messiah. But right now someone is among you whom you people do not know.

²⁷He will preach to you after I am gone. He is so important that I am not worthy to serve him as a slave MET by untying his sandals.”

²⁸Those things happened at a place called Bethany, on the east side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing people.

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. He said to the people, “Look! Here is the man whom God has appointed to be a sacrifice MET, like the lambs that the people of Israel sacrificed! By sacrificing himself he will make it possible for everyone in the world to be no longer guilty for having sinned.

³⁰He is the one about whom I said before, ‘Someone will come later who is more important than I am, since he existed long before me.’

³¹I myself did not previously recognize that he was the Messiah. But now I know who he is, and I have baptized people with water to enable you people of Israel to recognize who he is.”

³²John spoke clearly what God had shown him about Jesus. He said, “I saw God's Spirit as he was descending from heaven in the form of a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus.

³³I myself did not know previously that he was the Messiah. However, God sent me to baptize people with water, people who said they wanted to turn from their sinful ways. While I was doing that, God told me, ‘The man on whom you will see my Spirit descend and remain is the one who will put the Holy Spirit within you (pl) to truly change your lives.’

³⁴I saw the Spirit descend on him, and I tell you that he is ◄the Son of God/the person who is both God and man►.”

³⁵The next day John was at the same place again ◄with two of us/with two of his disciples►.

³⁶When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! There is the man God has appointed to be a sacrifice, like the lambs MET the people of Israel have sacrificed!”

³⁷◄When we/those two disciples► heard John say this, we/they went with Jesus.