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 seeth Jesus coming to him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. 30This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing in water. 32And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he abode upon him. 33And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, the same said to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizeth in 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

• Iκἀγώkagō kamoi kame · and IG2504
• knewεἴδωeidō · to perceive: knowG1492
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• notοὐou · noG3756
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• manifestφανερόωphaneroō · to revealG5319
• IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
• thereforeδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• thereforeτοῦτοtouto · thatG5124
• amἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• baptizingβαπτίζωbaptizō · to baptizeG907
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204

Cross-references for John 1:31

• John 1:33And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, the same said to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizeth in the Holy Spirit.
• Luke 1:80And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel.
• Luke 2:39And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
• John 1:7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
• Isaiah 40:3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
• Malachi 3:1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
• Malachi 4:2But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
• Luke 1:17And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
• Matthew 3:6And were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
• Mark 1:3The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
• Luke 3:3And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
• Acts 19:4Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe on him who should come after him, that is, on Christ 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