1.3 KiB
Jesus continues to talk to the people about John the Baptizer.
This is he of whom it is written
"That prophet is the one the prophets wrote about" or "John is the one the prophets wrote about long ago"
Behold…
In this verse, Jesus is quoting from the prophet Malachi and saying that John was that messenger in the writings of Malachi Malachi 3:1 .
before your face
"in front of you" or "to go ahead of you." The word "you" is singular, because God was speaking to the Messiah in the quotation. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-you)
I say to you
Jesus was speaking to the crowd, so "you" is plural. Jesus said this to emphasize the truth of the surprising thing he was about to say next. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-you)
among them that are born of women
"among those to whom a woman has given birth." This is a figure of speech referring to all people. It could also be translated as "of all the people who have ever lived."
no one is greater than John
This can be translated positively as "John is the greatest."
the least important person in the kingdom of God
This refers to a person who will be part of the kingdom that God will establish." This could be translated as "who has entered into the kingdom of God."
greater that he is
"higher spiritual status than John"