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John 1:19
ESV And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
NIV Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
NASB This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'
CSB This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?"
NLT This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, 'Who are you?'
KJV And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
NKJV Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

What does John 1:19 mean?

Here begins a conversation between John the Baptist and local religious leaders. As in the rest of his gospel, when John uses the term "the Jews," he generally means the high-level political and religious leaders. The ones involved here are the ultra-legalistic Pharisees (John 1:24). Pharisees were extremely devout but tended to be cold and arrogant. Not all were that way, as shown by Nicodemus (John 3:1–2), a Pharisee who apparently became a believer (John 19:39).

It was fair for the Pharisees to question John the Baptist. In fact, it was exactly what they should have done. Israel's religious leaders were supposed to be the guardians of the truth. Ancient Jerusalem shared many of the same quirks as large cities do today. There were plenty of people spouting spiritual babble. John's ministry must have been quite popular or challenging to attract official investigation. Investigating a strange message was a good step, but their search doesn't seem to be very sincere.
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