John 1:20-28

20He openly admitted and did not deny; he admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”

21“What then? Are you Elijah?” they asked him. “I am not,” said John. “Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered.

22So they said to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23He said, “I am ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of Adonai,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24Now those sent were from the Pharisees.

25They asked him, “If you’re not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet, why then are you immersing?”

26“I immerse in water,” John answered. “Among you stands One you do not know,

27coming after me, whose sandals I’m not worthy to untie.”

28These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was immersing.