John 1:15

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”
KJV
John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
WEB
John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”
ASV
John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me.
DARBY
(John bears witness of him, and he has cried, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me;)
BLB
John testifies concerning Him, and he has cried out, saying, “This was He [of] whom I said, ‘The One coming after me has precedence over me, because He was before me.’”
ÅB
Johannes vitner om ham og roper: Det var denne om hvem jeg sa: Han som kommer etter meg, er kommet foran meg, fordi han var før meg.
OTB
Johannes vitnet om ham. Han ropte ut og sa: “Dette er han som jeg sa, ‘Han som kommer etter meg har overgått meg fordi han var før meg.’”
B1930
Johannes vidner om ham og roper: Det var denne om hvem jeg sa: Han som kommer efter mig, er kommet foran mig, fordi han var før mig.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Matthew 3:11

    I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

    Read in context
  • Colossians 1:17

    And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

    Read in context
  • John 1:29–34

    The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

    Read in context
  • John 3:26–36

    And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

    Read in context
  • John 1:1–2

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

    Read in context
  • Luke 3:16

    John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

    Read in context
  • Matthew 3:13–17

    Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

    Read in context
  • John 5:33–36

    Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.

    Read in context