John 3:28-31

3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ ¹  but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ 3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ²  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ³  3:30 He must become more important while I become less important.” ⁴ 

3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. ⁵  The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. ⁶  The one who comes from heaven ⁷  is superior to all. ⁸ 

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¹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

² tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).

³ tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”

⁴ sn Some interpreters extend the quotation of John the Baptist’s words through v. 36.

⁵ tn Or “is above all.”

⁶ tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”

⁷ sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.

⁸ tc Ì⁷⁵ א* D ˹ 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanw pantwn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (Ì^36vid,66 א² A B L W^s Θ Ψ 083 086 ˹³ 33 Ï lat sy^s,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.

tn Or “is above all.”