A Comparison of John 1:29-31

John saw Jesus coming toward him the next day and said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘A man who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ I didn’t know who he was. However, I came to baptize with water to show him to the people of Israel.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Meaning-for-Meaning (Closest Natural Equivalence)

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’ And I did not recognize Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Word-for-Word (Formal Equivalence)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
Thought-for-Thought (Functional Equivalence)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I was talking about. I said, ‘A man who comes after me is more important than I am. That’s because he existed before I was born.’ I did not know him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That’s the reason I came baptizing with water.”
New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
Paraphrase (Retelling)

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