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John 1:22

ESV So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
NIV Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
NASB Then they said to him, 'Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?'
CSB "Who are you, then?" they asked. "We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?"
NLT Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?'
KJV Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
NKJV Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

What does John 1:22 mean?

It's not necessarily wrong to ask "rhetorical" questions, or to pose questions which are really statements. But a common mark of dishonest skeptics is to ask without sincere interest in the truth. Once the interrogators (John 1:19–21) run out of their own ideas about who John the Baptist might be, they finally give him the opportunity to speak for himself. And yet, this seems mostly because they want to get their errand finished. This suggests that the men physically present were messengers of local religious leaders, not necessarily the religious leaders themselves (John 1:24). The Baptist's ministry must have been influential enough to require investigation, but not enough to convince priests or scribes to come out in person.

Israel's spiritual leaders were supposed to act like shepherds, protecting the people from false ideas. So, it was legitimate for local priests to question John the Baptist. He was attracting attention by preaching a controversial message (John 1:19). As usual, the Baptist would rather tell others about the Messiah, than talk about himself (Malachi 3:1).
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