John 1:26

1:26 John answered them, ¹  “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize, ² 

John 1:31

1:31 I did not recognize ³  him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.” ⁴ 

[1:26]  ¹ tn Grk “answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:26]  ² tn Or “know.”

[1:31]  ³ tn Or “know.”

[1:31]  ⁴ sn John the Baptist, who has been so reluctant to elaborate his own role, now more than willingly gives his testimony about Jesus. For the author, the emphasis is totally on John the Baptist as a witness to Jesus. No attention is given to the Baptist’s call to national repentance and very little to his baptizing. Everything is focused on what he has to say about Jesus: so that he could be revealed to Israel.