This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?”
Parallel translations
- WEB This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
- KJV And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
- BSB And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
- NKJV Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
- NASB This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites to ask John the Baptist who he was. His official examination by Jerusalem's authorities begins here.
Overview
John's Gospel formally introduces the Baptist's 'testimony' as a delegation from the Jerusalem authorities investigates his identity and mission. Their question, 'Who are you?', frames the following verses, in which John repeatedly deflects honor away from himself toward Christ. The episode shows the religious establishment's scrutiny and John's faithful, self-effacing reply.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 3:15–18As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ,
- John 10:24The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
- Acts 19:4Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”
- Acts 13:25As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
- John 5:33–36You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
- Matt 21:23–32When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
- John 2:18The Jews therefore answered him, “What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?”
- John 5:10So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”
- Deut 17:9–11You shall come to the priests who are Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days. You shall inquire, and they shall give you the verdict.
- Deut 24:8Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites teach you. As I commanded them, so you shall observe to do.
- John 6:41The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”
- John 6:52The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Pastoral
Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.
Seminary
- ★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed
The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 1:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.