⁴ And so John the Baptist^(A) appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance^(B) for the forgiveness of sins.^(C)

⁸ I baptize you with^[a] water, but he will baptize you with^[b] the Holy Spirit.”^(A)

¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with^[a] water.^(A) But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with^[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.^(B)

²⁶ “I baptize with^[a] water,”^(A) John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me,^(B) the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”^(C)

²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,^(D) where John was baptizing.

John Testifies About Jesus

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,^(E) who takes away the sin of the world!^{(F) 30} This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’^{(G) 31} I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.^{(H) 33} And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water^(I) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’^{(J) 34} I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”^[b](K)

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus^(L)

³⁵ The next day John^(M) was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”^(N)

³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi”^(O) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹ “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).^{(P) 42} And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called^(Q) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter^[c]).^(R)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,^(S) he said to him, “Follow me.”^(T)

⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.^{(U) 45} Philip found Nathanael^(V) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,^(W) and about whom the prophets also wrote^(X)—Jesus of Nazareth,^(Y) the son of Joseph.”^(Z)

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”^(AA) Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite^(AB) in whom there is no deceit.”^(AC)

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,^(AD) you are the Son of God;^(AE) you are the king of Israel.”^(AF)

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe^[d] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ He then added, “Very truly I tell you,^[e] you^[f] will see ‘heaven open,^(AG) and the angels of God ascending and descending^(AH) on’^[g] the Son of Man.”^(AI)

⁵ For John baptized with^[a] water,^(A) but in a few days you will be baptized with^[b] the Holy Spirit.”^(B)

³⁶ As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”^(A)

³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with^[a] water,^(A) but you will be baptized with^[b] the Holy Spirit.’^(B)