John 1:8 BSB — MannaFest

John 1:8

He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.

KJV

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

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Commentary

2 voices

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)

John, after beginning his gospel with a statement of our Lord's nature as God, proceeds to speak of His forerunner, John the Baptist. The contrast between the language used about the Savior, and that used about His forerunner, ought not to be overlooked. Of Christ we are told that He was the eternal God—the Creator of all things—the source of life and light. Of John the Baptist we are told simply, that "there was a man sent from God, whose name was John." We see, firstly, in these verses, the true nature of a Christian minister's office.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Had John pretended to be that light he had not been so much as a faithful witness of that light. Those who usurp the honour of Christ forfeit the honour of being the servants of Christ; yet John was very serviceable as a witness to the light, though he was not that light.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
οὐκ	ouk	Not	G3756 →
ἦν	ēn	was	G1510 →
ἐκεῖνος	ekeinos	He	G1565 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
φῶς,	phōs	Light,	G5457 →
ἀλλ᾽	all᾽	but	G235 →
ἵνα	ina	that	G2443 →
μαρτυρήσῃ	marturēsē	he may witness	G3140 →
περὶ	peri	concerning	G4012 →
τοῦ	tou	the	G3588 →
φωτός.	phōtos	Light.	G5457 →

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
John 1:20
He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”
leads to
- Matthew 3:11–12
  I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- John 3:28–36
  You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Mark 1:7–8
  And he began to proclaim: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
Through
John 3:28
You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’
leads to
- John 1:20
  He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”
- John 1:23
  John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
Through
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.”
leads to
- Acts 1:5
  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
- Acts 11:16
  Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
- John 1:29–34
  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!