κέκραγεν; ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν; πρῶτός μου ἦν

Says Ἰωάννης μαρτυρεῖ … καὶ κέκραγεν (kekragen). μαρτυρεῖ is a vivid present. κέκραγεν is the perfect of κράζω ("cry out"), which in Koine works as a present: "he cries out." Abbott-Smith lists John 1:15 under "pf. with pres. sense." John's testimony is presented as still sounding.

Says Οὗτος ἦν ὃν εἶπον: "This was he of whom I said." The saying has three parts: - Ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος, "the one coming after me." He comes after John in time and ministry. - ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, "has come to be ahead of me." ἔμπροσθεν, a word of place, here means rank (so Abbott-Smith for 1:15, 30). The perfect γέγονεν states the resulting standing. - ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν, "because he was before me." πρῶτος with the genitive serves as a comparative, equal to πρότερος. Compare 15:18, ἐμὲ πρῶτον ὑμῶν, "me before you." The imperfect ἦν echoes 1:1.

Implies John was older than Jesus (Luke 1:36). Even so, he grounds Jesus' higher rank in the fact that Jesus "was" before him. This is a statement of preexistence, and it repeats the ἦν of 1:1. The saying recurs in 1:30.

Says SBLGNT encloses 1:15 in parentheses, an editorial judgment that 1:16 (ὅτι) resumes 1:14. BSB has no parentheses. Neither edition changes the words.

Uncertain Whether πρῶτός μου means only "before me" in time or also "my chief." Abbott-Smith notes both views. The team takes the temporal sense, which matches the ἦν.