Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:33:
- Yatzachi Zapotec: “I wouldn’t have realized who he was, but God, the person who sent me to baptize said to me, ‘You will see my Spirit come down where the person is who will cause my Spirit to be in your hearts to rule you.'”
- Huehuetla Tepehua: ” . . . ‘You will see the Holy Spirit who will come down from heaven. The Holy Spirit will come to rest on a man. He is the one who will send the Holy Spirit to people, as if to say, he will baptize with the Holy Spirit instead of water.'”
- Lalana Chinantec: “I didn’t know who he was at first, but the one who sent me said to me: ‘You are going to see the Great Spirit descend on a person. The Great Spirit will remain on him. He is the one who will cause my Great Spirit to enter into people’s hearts. That’s how he will baptize people.’ That’s what he told me.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
- Uma: “There is also this testimony of Yohanes. He said: ‘At first I did not know that Yesus was the Redeemer King. But God ordered me to baptize people with water, and he said to me like this: ‘If you (sing.) should see the Holy Spirit come-down and land on a person, He will be the one who will baptize people with the Holy Spirit.’ So, I did see the Holy Spirit come-down from heaven in-the-shape-of a dove, land and come-to-rest on Yesus. That is why these are my words: Yesus, He is the Child of God.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “I did not yet know him, but God who told me to bathe the people with water told me, he said, ‘When you see the Holy Spirit come down going to a certain person and remaining there with him, he is the one who will bathe mankind in a different way, he will send to them the Holy Spirit.’ ‘ Then Yahiya testified about Isa, he said, ‘I really saw the Holy Spirit come down from the sky like the shape of a dove alighting and remaining with Isa.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And at first,’ said John, ‘I did not yet know that he was the prophesied king, but God who is the one who sent me that I might baptize by means of water, he told me beforehand, he said, ‘If you see a person upon whom the Holy Spirit comes down and doesn’t leave him, this is the person who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Previously, I-say, I didn’t know him. But then the one who sent me to go baptize-with water, he said, ‘The one whom you (sing.) see on-whom-my-Spirit -alights and remains, it is he who will baptize-with the Holy Spirit.’ And so it was that I saw the Holy Spirit like a pigeon/dove who came-down from heaven and stayed with/in him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “I didn’t know that he was the one. But God who sent me to baptize in water, he’s the one who said to me, ‘You will see the Espiritu Santo who will descend on a person and enter-to-indwell him. Well, that one, that person is the one who will baptize, the Espiritu Santo being what he baptizes with.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “Until then I did not know who was the Christ. But when I was sent to baptize with water, God told me, ‘That man you see that the Holy Spirit arrives upon, he is that one who will cause that the people will be empowered by the Holy Spirit.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
