John 1:31 BSB — MannaFest

John 1:31

I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water.

KJV

And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

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Commentary

1 voice

Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2 (444)

And I knew Him not, but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. He that leaped in the depth of the womb of his mother at the voice of the Holy Virgin while yet bearing the Lord, prophet before the travail-pang, disciple in the womb, says of the Saviour, I knew Him not, and says truly, for he does not lie. For God knows all things of Himself and untaught, but the creature, by being taught.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

But there was a peculiar providence visible in our saviour's living, from his infancy to his baptism, at Nazareth: John all the time living the life of a hermit in the deserts of Judea, Luke i, 80, ninety or more miles from Nazareth: hereby that acquaintance was prevented which might have made John's testimony of Christ suspected.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

I 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 Mat 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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
κἀγὼ	kagō	And I myself	G1473 →G2532 →
οὐκ	ouk	not	G3756 →
ᾔδειν	ēdein	knew	G1492 →
αὐτόν,	auton	Him,	G846 →
ἀλλ᾽	all᾽	but	G235 →
ἵνα	ina	that	G2443 →
φανερωθῇ	phanerōthēa	He may be revealed	G5319 →
τῷ	tō	<the>	G3588 →
Ἰσραήλ,	Israēl	to Israel,	G2474 →
διὰ	dia	because of	G1223 →
τοῦτο	touto	this	G3778 →
ἦλθον	ēlthon	came	G2064 →
ἐγὼ	egō	I myself	G1473 →
ἐν	en	with	G1722 →
ὕδατι	hudati	water	G5204 →
βαπτίζων.	baptizōn	baptizing.	G907 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Luke 1:17
And 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…
leads to
- Malachi 4:5–6
  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Matthew 11:14
  And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
- Matthew 17:11–12
  Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.
Through
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…
leads to
- Luke 1:76
  And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Malachi 4:5
  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Mark 1:2–3
  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
Through
John 1:7
He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe.
leads to
- Acts 19:4
  Paul 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.”
Through
John 1:33
I 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…
leads to
- Acts 1:5
  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”