3:26a
Apparently the disciples came to John to ask a question related to what they discussed about purification. Perhaps baptism was part of their discussion or the word “purification” referred to baptism.
3:26b
Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan: These men referred back to the events recorded in John 1:19–34. It appears that they wanted John to be jealous of Jesus. They were not happy that Jesus was getting more disciples than John. Consider how it is natural to refer to someone in a situation like that. For example:
Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River…? (New Century Version)
Look: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as Look calls attention to what is being said. In some languages it is more natural to say “behold” or “pay attention.”
Rabbi: This word is a transliteration of a Hebrew word that means “my great one.” When John wrote his gospel, people used this word as a title of respect for an important religious teacher or leader. It does not refer to a teacher at a school. Use an expression that is natural and shows proper respect.
See how you translated this term in 3:2b and 1:38, and see the notes there.
beyond the Jordan: This phrase refers to the east side of the Jordan River. In some languages it may be natural to make one or both of these points explicit. For example:
the east side of the Jordan (Good News Translation)
-or-
the other side of the Jordan River (New Century Version)
3:26c
the One you testified about: John’s followers used this expression to make clear whom they were talking about. Perhaps they also wanted to remind John of what he had done for Jesus. Maybe they did not think that it was right that Jesus had more disciples than John after John helped him.
Jesus was the one about whom John had testified (told what he knew). John testified that Jesus was the Son of God. See John 1:15, 1:29–34. Here are other ways to translate this expression:
the man to whom you bore witness (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the one you identified as the Messiah (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
you spoke about a man (Contemporary English Version)
testified: The verb testified means “told what he knew was true.” In this context John has said positive things about Jesus. John had spoken well of Jesus and had declared that he was “the Lamb of God” and “the Son of God.” See the note on “testimony” at 1:19a.
3:26d–e
He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him: These clauses indicate that John’s disciples were not happy about what was happening. Previously, John had been the only one who baptized people. Now Jesus was becoming popular and was baptizing people.
3:26d
He: The pronoun He refers to Jesus. In some languages it is more natural to supply the name. For example
Jesus is baptizing
baptizing: The verb baptizing means to wash a person with water in a special religious ritual. In this context the ritual represented purification from sin. It did not mean that the person was washed to remove dirt. Baptism also marked the beginning of a person’s life as one of God’s pure people. See how you translated this word in 3:22c.
See also baptize, baptism in Key Biblical Terms.
3:26e
everyone is going to Him: This clause is a hyperbole, an exaggeration. It emphasizes that many people were going to Jesus. But not every person in the area was going to Jesus. You may need to indicate in some way that the speaker is exaggerating. For example:
everyone in the world is running to him
-or-
absolutely everybody is going to him!
In other languages it may be necessary to remove the exaggeration. For example:
more and more people are going to him!
-or-
look at how many people are going to him!
going to Him: The implied idea is that people were going to Jesus to be baptized. In some languages it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:
now all the people are going to him ⌊and are being baptized⌋
-or-
look at all the people going to him ⌊to be baptized⌋ !
In some languages it may be necessary to make it explicit that these people were not going to John and his disciples. For example:
everybody is going to him instead of coming to us. (New Living Translation (2004))
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