John 3:30

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

He must become more important while I become less important.”

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Ἐκεῖνον δεῖ αὐξάνειν, ἐμὲ δὲ ἐλαττοῦσθαι.

Transliteration

That one dei auxanein, me de elattousthai.

Grammar Details

• *Ekeinon*: demonstrative pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular - that one
• *dei*: present, 3rd singular, impersonal - it is necessary
• *auxanein*: present, infinitive - to increase
• *eme*: personal pronoun, accusative - me
• *de*: postpositive conjunction - but/and
• *elattousthai*: present, passive, infinitive - to decrease

Word Meanings

• *auxanein*: increase/grow/become greater
• *elattousthai*: decrease/diminish/become less

Referenced Verses

• Col 1:18 : 18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.
• Ps 72:17-19 : 17 May his fame endure! May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky! May they use his name when they formulate their blessings! May all nations consider him to be favored by God! 18 The LORD God, the God of Israel, deserves praise! He alone accomplishes amazing things! 19 His glorious name deserves praise forevermore! May his majestic splendor fill the whole earth! We agree! We agree!
• Isa 9:7 : 7 His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David’s throne and over David’s kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will accomplish this.
• 1 Cor 3:5 : 5 What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us.
• Heb 3:2-6 : 2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s house. 3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. We are of his house, if in fact we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.
• Rev 11:15 : 15 The Seventh Trumpet Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
• Dan 2:44-45 : 44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever. 45 You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”
• Matt 13:31-33 : 31 The Parable of the Mustard Seed He gave them another parable:“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches.” 33 The Parable of the Yeast He told them another parable:“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”
• Acts 13:36-37 : 36 For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died, was buried with his ancestors, and experienced decay, 37 but the one whom God raised up did not experience decay.
• 2 Cor 3:7-9 : 7 The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry But if the ministry that produced death– carved in letters on stone tablets– came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face(a glory which was made ineffective), 8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! 10 For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it. 11 For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory!
• Isa 53:2-3 : 2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. 3 He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
• Isa 53:12 : 12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”
• Dan 2:34-35 : 34 You were watching as a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth.