¹⁹And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” ²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: ²⁴Then the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. ²⁷He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.