The Eternal Word(A)

In the beginning (B)was the Word, and the (C)Word was (D)with God, and the Word was (E)God. (F)He was in the beginning with God. (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (H)In Him was life, and (I)the life was the light of men. And (J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.

John’s Witness: The True Light

There was a (K)man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a (L)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might (M)believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that (N)Light. (O)That[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and (P)the world did not know Him. 11 (Q)He came to His [c]own, and His [d]own did not receive Him. 12 But (R)as many as received Him, to them He gave the [e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 (S)who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Becomes Flesh

14 (T)And the Word (U)became (V)flesh and dwelt among us, and (W)we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, (X)full of grace and truth.

15 (Y)John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, (Z)‘He who comes after me [f]is preferred before me, (AA)for He was before me.’ ”

16 [g]And of His (AB)fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For (AC)the law was given through Moses, but (AD)grace and (AE)truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (AF)No one has seen God at any time. (AG)The only begotten [h]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

A Voice in the Wilderness(AH)

19 Now this is (AI)the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 (AJ)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you (AK)the Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

23 He said: (AL)“I am

(AM)‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 John answered them, saying, (AN)“I baptize with water, (AO)but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 (AP)It is He who, coming after me, [i]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

28 These things were done (AQ)in [j]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God(AR)

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! (AS)The Lamb of God (AT)who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who [k]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, (AU)therefore I came baptizing with water.”

32 (AV)And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, (AW)this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the (AX)Son of God.”

The First Disciples

35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, (AY)“Behold the Lamb of God!”

37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they (AZ)followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was (BA)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the [l]Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of [m]Jonah. (BB)You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, [n]A Stone).

Philip and Nathanael

43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found (BC)Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now (BD)Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found (BE)Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom (BF)Moses in the law, and also the (BG)prophets, wrote—Jesus (BH)of Nazareth, the (BI)son of Joseph.”

46 And Nathanael said to him, (BJ)“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, (BK)an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, (BL)You are the Son of God! You are (BM)the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (BN)hereafter[o] you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Footnotes

  1. John 1:5 Or overcome
  2. John 1:9 Or That was the true Light which, coming into the world, gives light to every man.
  3. John 1:11 His own things or domain
  4. John 1:11 His own people
  5. John 1:12 authority
  6. John 1:15 ranks higher than I
  7. John 1:16 NU For
  8. John 1:18 NU God
  9. John 1:27 ranks higher than I
  10. John 1:28 NU, M Bethany
  11. John 1:30 ranks higher than I
  12. John 1:41 Lit. Anointed One
  13. John 1:42 NU John
  14. John 1:42 Gr. Petros, usually translated Peter
  15. John 1:51 NU omits hereafter

The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C) He was with God in the beginning.(D) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.(E) In him was life,(F) and that life was the light(G) of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness,(H) and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.(I)

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(J) He came as a witness to testify(K) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.(L) He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light(M) that gives light to everyone(N) was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,(O) the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.(P) 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed(Q) in his name,(R) he gave the right to become children of God(S) 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.(T)

14 The Word became flesh(U) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,(V) the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace(W) and truth.(X)

15 (John testified(Y) concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)(Z) 16 Out of his fullness(AA) we have all received grace(AB) in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses;(AC) grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.(AD) 18 No one has ever seen God,(AE) but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b](AF) is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

19 Now this was John’s(AG) testimony when the Jewish leaders[c](AH) in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”(AI)

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”(AJ)

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”(AK)

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness,(AL) ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d](AM)

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with[e] water,”(AN) John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me,(AO) the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”(AP)

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,(AQ) where John was baptizing.

John Testifies About Jesus

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,(AR) who takes away the sin of the world!(AS) 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’(AT) 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.(AU) 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water(AV) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’(AW) 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[f](AX)

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(AY)

35 The next day John(AZ) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(BA)

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi”(BB) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(BC) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(BD) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[g]).(BE)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(BF) he said to him, “Follow me.”(BG)

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(BH) 45 Philip found Nathanael(BI) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(BJ) and about whom the prophets also wrote(BK)—Jesus of Nazareth,(BL) the son of Joseph.”(BM)

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(BN) Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(BO) in whom there is no deceit.”(BP)

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(BQ) you are the Son of God;(BR) you are the king of Israel.”(BS)

50 Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open,(BT) and the angels of God ascending and descending(BU) on’[k] the Son of Man.”(BV)

Footnotes

  1. John 1:5 Or understood
  2. John 1:18 Some manuscripts but the only Son, who
  3. John 1:19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19.
  4. John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3
  5. John 1:26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)
  6. John 1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.
  7. John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.
  8. John 1:50 Or Do you believe … ?
  9. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  10. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  11. John 1:51 Gen. 28:12