Jesus continues to talk to the people about John the Baptizer.

## This is he of whom it is written ##

"That prophet is the one the prophets wrote about" or "John is the one the prophets wrote about long ago"

## Behold… ##

In this verse, Jesus is quoting from the prophet Malachi and saying that John was that messenger in the writings of Malachi [Malachi 3:1](../../mal/03/01.md) .

## before your face ##

"in front of you" or "to go ahead of you." The word "you" is singular, because God was speaking to the Messiah in the quotation. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-you]])

## I say to you ##

Jesus was speaking to the crowd, so "you" is plural. Jesus said this to emphasize the truth of the surprising thing he was about to say next. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-you]])

## among them that are born of women ##

"among those to whom a woman has given birth." This is a figure of speech referring to all people. It could also be translated as "of all the people who have ever lived."

## no one is greater than John ##

This can be translated positively as "John is the greatest."

## the least important person in the kingdom of God ##

This refers to a person who will be part of the kingdom that God will establish." This could be translated as "who has entered into the kingdom of God."

## greater that he is ##

"higher spiritual status than John"