John 1:21
New International Version
They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

New Living Translation
“Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he replied. “Are you the Prophet we are expecting?” “No.”

English Standard Version
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Berean Standard Bible
“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

Berean Literal Bible
And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he says, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" And he answered, "No."

King James Bible
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

New King James Version
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

New American Standard Bible
And so they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

NASB 1995
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

NASB 1977
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Legacy Standard Bible
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Amplified Bible
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the [promised] Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Christian Standard Bible
“What then? ” they asked him. “Are you Elijah? ” “I am not,” he said. “Are you the Prophet? ” “No,” he answered.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?"” I am not,” he said.” Are you the Prophet?"” No,” he answered.”

American Standard Version
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they asked him again, “What, therefore? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “No.” “Are you a Prophet”, and he said “No.”

Contemporary English Version
Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, "No, I am not!" And when they asked if he were the Prophet, he also said "No!"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No.

English Revised Version
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They asked him, "Well, are you Elijah?" John answered, "No, I'm not." Then they asked, "Are you the prophet?" John replied, "No."

Good News Translation
"Who are you, then?" they asked. "Are you Elijah?" "No, I am not," John answered. "Are you the Prophet?" they asked. "No," he replied.

International Standard Version
So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."

Literal Standard Version
And they questioned him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he says, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Majority Standard Bible
“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

New American Bible
So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

NET Bible
So they asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not!" "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No!"

New Revised Standard Version
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”

New Heart English Bible
And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."

Webster's Bible Translation
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? and he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

Weymouth New Testament
"What then?" they inquired; "are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered.

World English Bible
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”

Young's Literal Translation
And they questioned him, 'What then? Elijah art thou?' and he saith, 'I am not.' -- 'The prophet art thou?' and he answered, 'No.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Mission of John the Baptist
20He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.” 21“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 18:15
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.

Deuteronomy 18:18
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.

Matthew 11:14
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.

Matthew 16:14
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Matthew 21:11
The crowds replied, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

John 1:22
So they said to him, "Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"


Treasury of Scripture

And they asked him, What then? Are you Elias? And he said, I am not. Are you that prophet? And he answered, No.

Art thou Elias.

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Matthew 11:14
And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Matthew 17:10-12
And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? …

Art thou that.

John 1:25
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

John 7:40
Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

Deuteronomy 18:15-18
The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; …

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(21) What then?--Not "What art thou then?" but expressing surprise at the answer, and passing on with impatience to the alternative, "Art thou Elias?" (Comp. on this and the following question, Deuteronomy 18:15; Deuteronomy 18:18; Isaiah 40 ff.; Malachi 4:5; 2 Maccabees 2:1-8; and Note on Matthew 16:14). The angel had announced that "he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias." The Lord declared "Elias is come already" (Matthew 18:12-13), and yet the Forerunner can assert that, in the literal sense in which they ask the question and would understand the answer, he is not Elias, still less "the prophet," by which, whether thinking of the words of Moses or the fuller vision of Isaiah from which he immediately quotes, he would understand the Messiah himself, . . . Verse 21. - And they asked him, What then? What is the state of the case? The very repudiation of Messiahship in this form seems to imply some association with the Messianic period of which they had so many conflicting ideas. Malachi (Malachi 4:5) had predicted the coming again from heaven of Elijah the prophet, and the LXX., by translating the passage "Elijah the Tishbite," had strengthened the common mistake of a metempsychosis, or such an abnormal manifestation before the coming of Messiah. Schottgen ('De Messia,' H.H., vol. 2, pp 226, 490, 533-537) quotes a variety of proofs of this anticipation, and that Elijah was expected "three days before Messiah; that he would come in the mountains of Israel, weeping over the people, saying, 'O land of Israel, how long will you remain arid and desolate!'" (cf. my 'John the Baptist,' 3. § 4). There was a true sense in which (as our Lord informed his disciples) John was the fulfilment of Malachi's prediction and of the language of the angel to Zacharias (Luke 1:17; Matthew 11:14; Matthew 17:12), and that John came veritably in the spirit and power of Elijah. In that sense "Elijah had come already," just as Christ their David had come, in fulfilment of Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 37:24; cf. Jeremiah 30:9; Hosea 3:5), to rule over them. In the physical, superstitious sense, John the son of Zacharias was not the reincarnation of the Prophet Elijah, and so he boldly answered the inquiry, Art thou Elijah? with a categorical negative: I am not. They press their question once more. Art thou the Prophet? It is doubtful whether they here take up another popular expectation of the physical return of one of the old prophets, or whether, with an exegesis afterwards modified by the apostles, they point to Deuteronomy 18:15, and reveal the fact that they had not identified the prediction of "the prophet like unto Moses" with their Messiah. If they had identified these representations, they would not, of course, have pressed him with an identical question. It is highly probable that that prophecy had, with the predictions of Malachi and Isaiah, led to numerous expectations more or less identified with the Messianic cycle of coming events. In John 6:14; John 7:40; Matthew 16:14, we see the prevalence of the expectation - of a longing for an old prophet. They yearned for no upstart, but for one of the mighty brotherhood of departed men, in veritable flesh and blood. Now John and now Jesus was crudely suspected by some to be such a resuscitation. The Baptist, like the Samaritan woman, and subsequently St. Peter when full of the Holy Ghost, had sharply identified "the Prophet like unto Moses" with the Messiah himself; and therefore, on either hypothesis, he gives a curt reply to this inquiry, and he answered, No.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
“Then
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

who [are you]?”
Τί (Ti)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what.

they inquired.
ἠρώτησαν (ērōtēsan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2065: Apparently from ereo; to interrogate; by implication, to request.

“Are
εἶ (ei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

you
σὺ (sy)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

Elijah?”
Ἠλίας (Ēlias)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2243: Elijah, the prophet. Of Hebrew origin; Helias, an Israelite.

He said,
λέγει (legei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

“I am
εἰμί (eimi)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

not.”
Οὐκ (Ouk)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

“Are
εἶ (ei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

you
σύ (sy)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

the
(Ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Prophet?”
προφήτης (prophētēs)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4396: From a compound of pro and phemi; a foreteller; by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet.

He answered,
ἀπεκρίθη (apekrithē)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 611: From apo and krino; to conclude for oneself, i.e. to respond; by Hebraism to begin to speak.

“No.”
Οὔ (Ou)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.


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