²⁰ John ·spoke freely [confessed] and did not ·refuse to answer [deny it]. He said, “I am not the ·Christ [Messiah].”

²¹ So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” [^CElijah, an OT prophet, was expected to come back before the Messiah; 1 Kin. 17—2 Kin. 2; Mal. 4:5–6.]

He answered, “No, I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?” [^Cthe Prophet like Moses predicted in Deut. 18:15–19] they asked.

He answered, “No.”

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

²³ John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah:

²⁴ Some Pharisees [^Ca religious party which strictly observed OT laws and later customs] who had been sent asked John: ²⁵ “If you are not the ·Christ [Messiah] or Elijah or the Prophet [1:21], why do you baptize people?”

²⁶ John answered, “I baptize with water, but there is one here with you that you don’t ·know about [recognize]. ²⁷ He is the One who comes after me. I am not ·good enough [worthy; fit] to untie the ·strings [straps] of his sandals.” [^CRemoving sandals was the task of a slave.]

²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River [^Ca site east of the Jordan River, not the Bethany near Jerusalem], where John was baptizing people.