I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water precisely so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
In context
29The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look — the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30This is the one I meant when I said, ‘After me comes a man who now stands ahead of me, because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water precisely so that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32And John gave this testimony: “I have watched the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. 33I did not know him; but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest — he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’