John 1:33 (DBY)

Passage

And I knew him not; but he who sent me to baptise with water, *he* said to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on him, he it is who baptises with [the] Holy Spirit.

Nearby Context

John 1:31 and I knew him not; but that he might be manifested to Israel, therefore have I come baptising with water.

John 1:32 And John bore witness, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him.

John 1:33 And I knew him not; but he who sent me to baptise with water, *he* said to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on him, he it is who baptises with [the] Holy Spirit.

John 1:34 And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God.

John 1:35 Again, on the morrow, there stood John and two of his disciples.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "knew", "sent", "baptise", "water", "said", "upon", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "knew", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 32's "And John bore witness saying I beheld..." into verse 34's "And I have seen and borne witness...", so "Spirit" and "knew" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "knew" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.