²⁷ It is ^(A)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the ^(B)strap of His sandal.”

³⁰ This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘^(A)After me is coming a Man who has proved to be ^[a]my superior, ^(B)because He existed before me.’

³⁴ And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is ^(A)the ^[a]Son of God.”

²⁷ John replied, “^(A)A person can receive not even one thing unless it ^(B)has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves ^[a]are my witnesses that I said, ‘^(C)I am not the ^[b]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is ^(D)the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this ^(E)joy of mine has been made full. ³⁰ He must ^[c]increase, but I must ^[d]decrease.