These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Parallel translations
- KJV These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
- BSB All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
- ESV These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
- NKJV These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
- NASB These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people.
- NLT This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
These events took place at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The Evangelist anchors the account in a real geographic location.
Overview
John specifies the site east of the Jordan (distinct from the Bethany near Jerusalem) to root his testimony in verifiable history. Such precise details support the Gospel's claim to eyewitness reliability. The location, where Israel's history with the Jordan ran deep, fittingly hosts the herald who prepares the way for a new work of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- John 10:40He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and there he stayed.
- John 3:23John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized.
- Judg 7:24Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan!” So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan.
- John 3:26They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
- John 12:5“Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
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 1:28 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.