This verse repeats essentially the contents of verse 15; as in 1.15,27, so here the phrase after me is temporal rather than spatial.

But he is greater than I am is literally “who has become before me.” All translators and commentators recognize this clause as a reference to rank rather than to precedence in time (for example, New English Bible “who takes rank before me”; Moffatt “has taken precedence of me”). He is greater than I am may be readily rendered in some languages “he is more important than I am,” but it may also be rendered idiomatically “he is more of a chief than I am,” “he stands first ahead of me,” or “he stands high above me.”

He existed before I was born (New English Bible “before I was born, he already was”) is also a reference to precedence in time. Note the problems of translation of this clause discussed under 1.15.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Compare John’s statement here that he did not know Jesus with the Lucan infancy narrative, according to which John and Jesus were related (Luke 1.36, 39-45). But the point that the Gospel of John makes may be that John the Baptist did no know that Jesus was “the coming one.”

I did not know who he would be may cause complications in certain languages, for in this particular context the immediate pronominal reference of “he” is somewhat obscure, referring merely to “a man coming after me.” In some cases one may say “I did not know just what person would be that individual who would be greater than I am.”

To make him known is actually a passive construction in Greek (literally “in order that he might be made known”). “To make known” (Greek phaneroō) is a favorite Johannine expression (2.11; 3.21; 7.4; 9.3; 17.6; 21.1 [twice], 14), but it occurs only once in the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 4.22). In each of these instances the reference is either to Jesus’ manifestation of himself, his glory, his works, or his name.

The passive expression to make him known to the people of Israel may be made active in the form “in order to cause people of Israel to know who he is.” In this context “know” must be understood in the sense of “to recognize him for what he is.”

In John’s Gospel Israel always has a good connotation (in contrast to “the Jews”), and is equivalent to “God’s people.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

I still did not know that he was the one is the same phrase used in verse 31 (I did not know who he would be; Greek, “I did not know him”). John the Baptist is represented as repeating a statement and following it the second time with a more complete explanation. This interpretation is altogether in keeping with the style of the Fourth Gospel.

Although in Greek the article the does not appear before Holy Spirit, Anchor Bible (“a holy Spirit”) is the sole exception; Moffatt and Goodspeed render by “the holy Spirit.” By the use of a lower-case “h” in “holy,” these three translations attempt to capture the original meaning of John the Baptist’s words, apart from the influence of Christian theology. That is, they realize that John the Baptist would not be speaking of “the Holy Spirit” in the same sense that a Christian would understand the term. However, it is quite probable that John’s words should be understood in light of the theology of the Fourth Gospel, and so be translated the Holy Spirit. In light of all these considerations, the following conclusions seem valid: (1) To translate either “a holy Spirit” or “the holy Spirit” is problematical in view of the theology of the fourth evangelist. (2) The translation “the Holy Spirit” says more than the historical Baptist probably intended. (3) The neutral solution seems to be to render the expression as “God’s Spirit” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). What John is saying is that “the coming one” will inaugurate the age of God’s salvation when God’s Spirit will purify mankind. This meaning comes out clearly in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, where “the coming one” baptizes not only with “God’s Spirit” but “with fire” (Matt 3.11; Luke 3.16). In those Gospels “the coming one” is looked upon not only as inaugurating the age of salvation but also as bringing God’s judgment on those who have rejected God’s authority.

In some languages serious problems are involved in translating baptizes with the Holy Spirit, because the expression for “baptize” contains within itself a reference to “water.” The meaning of this passage might then be understood as “initiates with water with the Holy Spirit.” When the basic term for “baptism” means essentially “to initiate into the faith,” it may be better to eliminate specific reference to water in this context and simply say “initiates by means of the Holy Spirit” or “purifies by giving God’s Spirit.” The function of the Holy Spirit may be spoken of as causative, and the final clause of verse 33 may be translated “he is the one who causes the Holy Spirit to initiate us into faith.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Both verbs in this verse (I have seen … I tell) are in the perfect tense in Greek. The force of the perfect is the same here as in verse 32, that is, it focuses attention on the continuing effect of the past action. I have seen translates a different verb from the one rendered I saw in verse 32 and we saw in verse 14, but no distinction in meaning can be made between the two verb roots (see at 1.14).

I have seen it may require some expansion to ensure that the pronominal reference of it may refer to the entire event, for example, “I have seen what happened” or “I saw this happen.”

For the meaning of I tell you, see 1.7.

Said John is not actually in the Greek text; it is included in Good News Translation in order to identify the speaker.

Good News Translation, Goodspeed, Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, Zürcher Bibel, and Phillips all read the Son of God, but several other translations have the equivalent of “the Chosen One of God” (New English Bible, Anchor Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). The manuscript evidence favors the reading the Son of God, which is in keeping with the theological terminology of the Fourth Gospel. But the very fact that “son of God” is so frequent in John tends to make the reading suspect. It is easy to see why a scribe would change “the Chosen One of God” to read the Son of God, but it is almost impossible to see why a scribe would change the text to read the other way around. Moreover, the Son of God may have been introduced in order to harmonize the Fourth Gospel with the Synoptic accounts of baptism, which have my own dear Son. Although the UBS Committee on the Greek text favors the reading the Son of God (rating their decision as “B”), “the Chosen One of God” may be the better choice. If so, one may translate “the One whom God has chosen and sent.”

It is important that the pronoun he in verse 34 be understood as referring to the person on whom the Spirit has descended, rather than to the Holy Spirit or to God. It may be necessary, therefore, to say in some languages “I tell you that this man is the Son of God” or “I tell you that this person is the Son of God.”

The phrase “the Son of God” rarely offers any difficulty, but in a few instances this expression may already have a definite meaning in a receptor language. For example, in one language “sons of God” is simply a way in which the people identify themselves, while all foreigners are called “sons of the Devil.” Under such circumstances it is important to use a specific expression in translating this statement of John the Baptist, for example, “the unique Son of God” or “the special Son of God.”

If, instead of the Son of God, one adopts as a text “the Chosen One of God,” it may be necessary to use such a phrase as “that special One whom God has chosen” or “… has specially designated.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Was standing there (Anchor, New American Bible “was there,” Jerusalem Bible “stood there”) is rendered “was standing” in most translations. The verb means simply that John was present, but one commentator sees in it a picture of John the Baptist standing and waiting for Jesus. The reader is not told where John was, but the implication is that these events take place the same locality as the previous events, that is in Bethany, on the east side of the Jordan river (verse 28).

Two of John the Baptist’s disciples were present with him; one of these was Andrew (verse 40), but the other is not definitely known. All four Gospels agree that John the Baptist had a group of close followers, called disciples. He taught them specific prayers (Luke 11.1; compare 5.33), and they had their own rules for fasting (Mark 2.18).

Terms for disciples are normally of two types: the first based on the meaning of “learning” or “being taught”; the second based on the concept of “following,” “being associated with.” or “being an adherent of.” It is important in such a context to be able to use exactly the same term for the disciples of John as for those of Jesus, even though the Greek term often rendered “disciples” must be translated in some portions of Acts as “believers.” Though an expression based upon the concept of “learning” or “being taught” is often useful, it may suggest a kind of classroom relationship between teacher and pupil. Jesus did teach his disciples, but they were more than just his pupils. They were chosen to be with him and to be sent out to preach (Mark 3.14). For that reason translators increasingly prefer to use some term which means “follower of” or “adherent to,” rather than one which would suggest “pupils” in a classroom.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The verb rendered saw, though different from either of the verbs previously used (1.14,34), has the same force as those other verbs.

For the phrase There is the Lamb of God! see verse 29.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The verb went with means literally “to follow.” In several New Testament passages (including some in John’s Gospel), it has the meaning of “to become one’s disciple.” However, at least in verses 37 and 38, this verb seems to be used in its literal sense.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .