John 1:25
New International Version
questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

New Living Translation
asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

English Standard Version
They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Berean Standard Bible
asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Berean Literal Bible
and they asked him and said to him, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"

King James Bible
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

New King James Version
And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

New American Standard Bible
They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

NASB 1995
They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

NASB 1977
And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Legacy Standard Bible
And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Amplified Bible
They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Christian Standard Bible
So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?"”

American Standard Version
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they asked him and said to him, “Why therefore are you baptizing, if you are not The Messiah, nor Elijah, nor The Prophet?”

Contemporary English Version
They asked him, "Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?

English Revised Version
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They asked John, "Why do you baptize if you're not the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet?"

Good News Translation
then asked John, "If you are not the Messiah nor Elijah nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?"

International Standard Version
They asked him, "Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?"

Literal Standard Version
and they questioned him and said to him, “Why, then, do you immerse, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”

Majority Standard Bible
asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

New American Bible
They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”

NET Bible
So they asked John, "Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

New Revised Standard Version
They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”

New Heart English Bible
And they asked him, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And they asked him, and said to him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou art not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither that prophet?

Weymouth New Testament
Again they questioned him. "Why then do you baptize," they said, "if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the Prophet?"

World English Bible
They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”

Young's Literal Translation
and they questioned him and said to him, 'Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Mission of John the Baptist
24Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 18:15
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.

Deuteronomy 18:18
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

Matthew 3:6
Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Matthew 21:11
The crowds replied, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

John 1:21
"Then who are you?" they inquired. "Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."

John 1:24
Then the Pharisees who had been sent


Treasury of Scripture

And they asked him, and said to him, Why baptize you then, if you be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

Why.

Matthew 21:23
And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

Acts 4:5-7
And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, …

Acts 5:28
Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

that Christ.

John 1:20-22
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ…

Daniel 9:24-26
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy…

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John 1
1. The divinity, humanity, office, and incarnation of Jesus Christ.
15. The testimony of John.
39. The calling of Simon and Andrew, Philip and Nathanael














(25) Why baptizest thou then?--Baptism, which was certainly one of the initiatory rites of proselytes in the second or third century A.D., was probably so before the work of the Baptist. It is not baptism, therefore, which is strange to the questioners, but the fact that he places Jews and even Pharisees (Matthew 3:7) in an analogous position to that of proselytes, and makes them to pass through a rite which marks them out as impure, and needing to be cleansed before they enter "the kingdom of heaven." By what authority does he these things? They had interpreted such passages as Ezekiel 36:25 ff. to mean that Baptism should be one of the marks of Messiah's work. None less than the Christ, or Elias, or "the prophet" could enact a rite like this. John is assuming their power, and yet is not one of them.

Verse 25. - And they asked him (put the question), and said to him, Why baptizest thou, then, if thou be not the Christ, not Elijah, not the prophet? It would seem that, judging from such expressions as Ezekiel 36:25, 26 and Zechariah 13:1, the Jews expected some renewal of ceremonial purification on a grand scale at the Messianic appearance, and John's repudiation of every personal rank, which could, according to their view, justify him called for some explanation.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
asked
ἠρώτησαν (ērōtēsan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2065: Apparently from ereo; to interrogate; by implication, to request.

him,
αὐτὸν (auton)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

“Why
Τί (Ti)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what.

then
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

do you baptize,
βαπτίζεις (baptizeis)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 907: Lit: I dip, submerge, but specifically of ceremonial dipping; I baptize.

if
εἰ (ei)
Conjunction
Strong's 1487: If. A primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.

you
σὺ (sy)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

are
εἶ (ei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

not
οὐκ (ouk)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

the
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Christ,
Χριστὸς (Christos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5547: Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.

nor
οὐδὲ (oude)
Conjunction
Strong's 3761: Neither, nor, not even, and not. From ou and de; not however, i.e. Neither, nor, not even.

Elijah,
Ἠλίας (Ēlias)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2243: Elijah, the prophet. Of Hebrew origin; Helias, an Israelite.

nor
οὐδὲ (oude)
Conjunction
Strong's 3761: Neither, nor, not even, and not. From ou and de; not however, i.e. Neither, nor, not even.

the
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Prophet?”
προφήτης (prophētēs)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4396: From a compound of pro and phemi; a foreteller; by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet.


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NT Gospels: John 1:25 They asked him Why then do you (Jhn Jo Jn)
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