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Καὶ ἠρώτησαν αὐτόν, καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ, Τί οὖν βαπτίζεις, εἰ σὺ οὐκ εἶ ὁ Χριστός, οὔτε Ἠλίας, οὔτε ὁ προφήτης;
RBT Greek Interlinear:
Strongs 2532  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
kai
καὶ
and
Conj
Strongs 2065  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ērōtēsan
ἠρώτησαν
they asked
V-AIA-3P
Strongs 846  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
auton
αὐτὸν
himself
PPro-AM3S
Strongs 2532  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
kai
καὶ
and
Conj
Strongs 2036  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
eipan
εἶπαν
they said
V-AIA-3P
Strongs 846  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
autō
αὐτῷ
self/itself/himself
PPro-DM/N3S
Strongs 5101  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
Ti
Τί
who
IPro-ANS
Strongs 3767  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
oun
οὖν
therefore
Conj
Strongs 907  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
baptizeis
βαπτίζεις
you are plunging
V-PIA-2S
Strongs 1487  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ei
εἰ
if
Conj
Strongs 4771  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
sy
σὺ
yourself
PPro-N2S
Strongs 3756  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ouk
οὐκ
not
Adv
Strongs 1510  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ei
εἶ
you are
V-PIA-2S
Strongs 3588  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ho

the
Art-NMS
Strongs 5547  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
Christos
Χριστὸς
Christ
N-NMS
Strongs 3761  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
oude
οὐδὲ
nor
Conj
Strongs 2243  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
Ēlias
Ἠλίας
Elijah
N-NMS
Strongs 3761  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
oude
οὐδὲ
nor
Conj
Strongs 3588  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ho

the
Art-NMS
Strongs 4396  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
prophētēs
προφήτης
a prophet
N-NMS
RBT Hebrew Literal:
They speak to their Self - Psalm 43:5
And they questioned himself and said to self, Why then are you plunging44 if you, yourself are not the Anointed One,45 neither He Is God ("Elijah"), neither the Prophet?
Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And they asked him, and said to him, Why immersest thou then, if thou art not Christ, neither Elias, neither a prophet?
LITV Translation:
And they asked him and said to him, Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?
ESV Translation:
They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Footnotes

44

Strong’s #G907, baptizó. To plunge under, sink, submerge. It originates from baptó (#G911) to dip and so we read,

“…that he might dip [baptó] the peak of the Finger of himself of water…” 

Luke 16:24 RBT

The Greek verb βαπτίζω (baptízō), derived from the root βάπτω (“to dip”), originally meant to plunge, immerse, submerge, and more broadly to drench, overwhelm, or sink. In classical and Hellenistic usage, it could refer to the plunging of a sword into flesh (Josephus, BJ 2.18.4), the sinking of ships (Polybius 1.51.6), or even metaphorical immersion in sleep or sorrow (Plato, Symp. 176b; Libanius, Or. 64.115). It also appears in mundane contexts such as drawing wine by dipping a cup (Aristophanes, Fragmenta 14.5).

With the emergence of Christian texts, the term was not translated into Latin and other languages, but transliterated phonetically (Greek βαπτίζω → Latin baptizo), thereby creating a new lexical item. This process of transliteration (rather than semantic translation) resulted in a word — “baptize” — that became narrowly defined by ritual and theological use, ultimately detaching from the broader range of physical or metaphorical meanings found in earlier Greek. Thus, “John the Baptist” (ὁ βαπτιστής) could be rendered lexically as “John the Dipper” or “John the Submerger,” though later ecclesiastical usage sanctified the term within the liturgical register.

45

Strong’s #G5547, Christos. Xristós (from /xríō, ‘anoint with olive oil’) – properly, "the Anointed One," the Christ (Hebrew, ‘Messiah’).” Mashiach in Hebrew (#4899) means anointed one. It has to do with one who is anointed king.