John 1:31

John 1:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
• New International Version (NIV)I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."
• New King James Version (NKJV)I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

Context of John 1:31

29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.” 32Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him. 33I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

John 1:31 word by word

κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα φανερωθῇ τῷ Ἰσραήλ, διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον ἐγὼ ἐν ὕδατι βαπτίζων.Read the interlinear

• I myselfκἀγώkagō kamoi kame · and IG2504
• did notοὐou · noG3756
• knowεἴδωeidō · to perceive: knowG1492
• Himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• the reasonδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• the reasonοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• baptizingβαπτίζωbaptizō · to baptizeG907
• withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• He might be revealedφανερόωphaneroō · to revealG5319
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• to IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474

Cross-references for John 1:31

• John 1:33I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
• Luke 1:80And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
• Luke 2:39When Jesus’ parents had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
• John 1:7He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe.
• Isaiah 40:3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
• Malachi 3:1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
• Malachi 4:2“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.
• Luke 1:17And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
• Matthew 3:6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
• Mark 1:3“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
• Luke 3:3He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
• Acts 19:4Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

Commentaries on John 1:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31And I knew him not, etc. - John did not know our Lord personally, and perhaps had never seen him, at the time he spoke the words in John 1:15. Nor is it any wonder that the Baptist should have been unacquainted with Christ, as he had spent thirty years in the hill country of Hebron, and our Lord remained in a state of great privacy in the obscure city of Nazareth, in the extreme borders of Galilee. But that he should be made manifest to Israel - One…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31I knew him not - John was not personally acquainted with Jesus. Though they were remotely related to each other, yet it seems that they had had heretofore no personal acquaintance. John had lived chiefly in the hill country of Judea. Jesus had been employed with Joseph at Nazareth. Until Jesus came to be baptized Matthew 3:13-14, it seems that John had no acquaintance with him. He understood that he was to announce that the Messiah was about to appear. He…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-36Verses 29-36 John saw Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the Lamb of God. The paschal lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of its blood, the roasting and eating of its flesh, and all the other circumstances of the ordinance, represented the salvation of sinners by faith in Christ. And the lambs sacrificed every morning and evening, can only refer to Christ slain as a sacrifice to redeem us to God by his blood. John came as a preacher of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-51John’s Gospel focuses less on John the Baptist compared to the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 3:1–6; Mark 1:2–6; Luke 1:1–24, 57–80; 3:1–13). However, the apostle John wants us to understand that John the Baptist correctly identified and honored Jesus. John the Baptist’s disciples leave him to follow Jesus. Jesus continued the work that John had begun. As the ministry of Jesus grew, John’s ministry became smaller, just as John had said (John 3:30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 31-3431-34. knew him not--Living mostly apart, the one at Nazareth, the other in the Judean desert--to prevent all appearance of collusion, John only knew that at a definite time after his own call, his Master would show Himself. As He drew near for baptism one day, the last of all the crowd, the spirit of the Baptist heaving under a divine presentiment that the moment had at length arrived, and an air of unwonted serenity and dignity, not without traits…Read the comment

Topics related to John 1:31

• Baptism
• Jesus, the Christ
• John

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Behold
• Believe
• Blood
• Dwell
• Flesh
• Guile
• Light

Commentaries on John 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings