Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 1 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51
OET (OET-LV) And_I had_ not _known him, but the one having_sent me to_be_immersing in water, that one said to_me:
On whom wishfully you_may_see the spirit coming_down and remaining on him, this man is the one immersing in the_ holy _spirit.
OET (OET-RV) I didn’t know which one was him, but the one who sent me to immerse people in water said, ‘When you see the spirit coming down and settling on someone, he is the one who will immerse people with God’s holy spirit.’
This section is the most important part of what John the Baptist said about Jesus. Here John identified Jesus as God’s sacrifice for sin. John declared that Jesus was the one on whom the Spirit came down, and that Jesus was the Son of God.
Here are other possible section headings:
John the Baptist saw Jesus and told people that he was the Lamb of God
John the Baptist told about who Jesus was
Jesus was the Lamb of God
I myself did not know Him,
I would not have known who he was,
I only recognized Jesus as the Messiah
I myself did not know Him: The only reason that John recognized that Jesus was the Messiah was because God told him. Until he baptized Jesus, John did not realize that Jesus was the one who came to save the people. For example:
Before this I didn’t know who he was. (CEV)
John probably knew Jesus’ name, as they were related. But he had previously not recognized that Jesus was the Christ or Messiah, God’s Chosen Savior. In some languages it is more natural to make that explicit. For example:
Until then I did not know that Jesus was the Christ/Messiah.
but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me,
except God, who sent me to baptize with water, told me that
because God, who sent me to baptize with water, had told me that
but: The Greek word that the BSB translates as but introduces a strong contrast. It implies that after this next event, John did know who Jesus was.
the One who sent me to baptize with water: This phrase refers to God, who told John to baptize. In some languages you may need to make this explicit. For example:
God, who sent me to baptize with water (GNT)
told me: This clause indicates that God had previously spoken to John. He had given John instructions about how to recognize the Coming One, the Christ.
‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest
the man on whom I see the Holy Spirit come down and stay
the man on whom I would see the Holy Spirit come down and remain
The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest: The subject of this sentence, The man, refers to Jesus. However, God did not tell John that it was Jesus. So in your translation you should not identify him by name. For example:
The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest (REB)
descend and rest: The Holy Spirit came down on Jesus and then stayed on or with him. It is important that both of these actions are present in your translation.
is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
is the person who will baptize people with the Holy Spirit.
was the one who would baptize people with the Holy Spirit.
is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit: In some languages it is more natural to include an object and say whom this man will baptize. For example:
this man is the One who will baptize people with the Holy Spirit
will baptize: The verb baptize indicates a ceremony or ritual of washing. In water baptism, this ritual involves using water. Water is a symbol of cleansing. In baptism with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit cleanses and makes the person pure.
Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Holy Spirit refers to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is God, together with God the Father and God the Son. He is Spirit in that he is a living being who does not have a physical body. He is Holy in the sense that he comes from God and is God, unique, distinct from every other being. He is perfect in every way and is completely pure and sinless.
Here are some ways to translate Holy Spirit:
Spirit/Breath of/from God
Holy/Sacred Spirit
Do not imply that the Holy Spirit is like the ghost of a dead person or that God has died.
See Holy in KBT, A 2.
This verse contains a quotation that includes a quotation. John quoted God’s words when he talked to the people. In some languages it may be natural to translate the included quotation as an indirect quote. For example:
33aI myself did not know who Jesus was. 33bBut God, who sent me to baptize with water, told me about him. 33cHe said that I would see the Spirit descend and remain on him. 33dThat would tell me that he was the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
33aI myself did not know/recognize Jesus to be the Messiah. 33bBut the one who sent me to baptize with water told me about him. He said that 33cthe one on whom I witness the Spirit come down and rest 33dis the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Κἀγώ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν ἀλλʼ ὁ πέμψας μέ βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι ἐκεῖνος μοί εἶπεν Ἐφʼ ὅν ἄν ἴδῃς τό Πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καί μένον ἐπʼ αὐτόν οὗτος ἐστίν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ)
John means that he did not know previously that Jesus was the Messiah. It does not mean that he didn’t recognize who Jesus was when he saw him. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [And I did not recognize that he was the Messiah]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι, ἐκεῖνός
the_‹one› ˓having˒_sent the_‹one› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Κἀγώ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν ἀλλʼ ὁ πέμψας μέ βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι ἐκεῖνος μοί εἶπεν Ἐφʼ ὅν ἄν ἴδῃς τό Πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καί μένον ἐπʼ αὐτόν οὗτος ἐστίν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ)
Here, the phrases the one who sent me and that one both refer to God. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [God, who sent me to baptize in water,]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Κἀγώ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν ἀλλʼ ὁ πέμψας μέ βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι ἐκεῖνος μοί εἶπεν Ἐφʼ ὅν ἄν ἴδῃς τό Πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καί μένον ἐπʼ αὐτόν οὗτος ἐστίν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ)
John the Baptist is using literal baptism, which puts a person under water, to refer to spiritual baptism, which puts people under the influence of the Holy Spirit, who purifies them. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [he is the one who will put you under the influence of the Holy Spirit, who will purify you]
OET (OET-LV) And_I had_ not _known him, but the one having_sent me to_be_immersing in water, that one said to_me:
On whom wishfully you_may_see the spirit coming_down and remaining on him, this man is the one immersing in the_ holy _spirit.
OET (OET-RV) I didn’t know which one was him, but the one who sent me to immerse people in water said, ‘When you see the spirit coming down and settling on someone, he is the one who will immerse people with God’s holy spirit.’
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.