John Chapter 1 verse 20 Holy Bible
And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ.
read chapter 1 in ASV
He said quite openly and straightforwardly, I am not the Christ.
read chapter 1 in BBE
And he acknowledged and denied not, and acknowledged, I am not the Christ.
read chapter 1 in DARBY
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
read chapter 1 in KJV
read chapter 1 in WBT
He confessed, and didn't deny, but he confessed, "I am not the Christ."
read chapter 1 in WEB
and he confessed and did not deny, and confessed -- `I am not the Christ.'
read chapter 1 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 20, 21. - (1) He deflates his own position, negatively. Verse 20. - And he confessed, and denied not. Perhaps the double form of statement, or rather the introduction of the clause, "he denied not," before the repetition of the confession with its contents, was adopted to indicate that John might have been tempted to "deny" that he was not the Christ. If he had hesitated at all, he would have denied the real Christ, the Son of God, who had been revealed to him by special means. I for my part - very emphatic - am not the Christ. This implies, not only that the supposition over which they are brooding is unfounded, not only that he is not the Christ, but that he knows more, and that he knows another to be the Christ. If this reading of the text is correct, the Baptist, by his negative reply, gave to the priests more than they asked.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(20) Confessed, and denied not; but confessed.--Comp. for the style, Note on John 1:3.I am not.--The better reading places the pronoun in the most emphatic position: "It is not I who am the Messiah." He understands their question, then, "Who art thou?" as expressing the general expectation, "Is it thou who art the Messiah?"
