John 1
1
In praise of the Word
The Word of life
1In the beginning was the one
who is called the Word.
The Word was with God
and was truly God.
2From the very beginning
the Word was with God.
3And with this Word,
God created all things.
Nothing was made
without the Word.
Everything that was created
4received its life from him,
and his life gave light
to everyone.
5The light keeps shining
in the dark,
and darkness has never
put it out.#1.5 put it out: Or “understood it.”
6God sent a man named John,#Mt 3.1; Mk 1.4; Lk 3.1,2.
7who came to tell
about the light
and to lead all people
to have faith.
8John wasn't that light.
He came only to tell
about the light.
9The true light that shines
on everyone
was coming into the world.
10The Word was in the world,
but no one knew him,
though God had made the world
with his Word.
11He came into his own world,
but his own nation
did not welcome him.
12Yet some people accepted him
and put their faith in him.
So he gave them the right
to be the children of God.
13They were not God's children
by nature or because
of any human desires.
God himself was the one
who made them his children.
14The Word became
a human being
and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory,
the glory of the only Son
of the Father.
From him all the kindness
and all the truth of God
have come down to us.
15John spoke about him and shouted, “This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.”
16Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.#1.16 one blessing after another: Or “one blessing in place of another.” 17The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. 18No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.
The message of John the Baptist
John the Baptist tells about Jesus
(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.15-17)
19-20The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, “I am not the Messiah.” 21Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, “No, I am not!” And when they asked if he were the Prophet,#1.21 the Prophet: Many of the Jewish people expected God to send them a prophet who would be like Moses, but with even greater power. See Deuteronomy 18.15,18. he also said “No!”#Ml 4.5; Dt 18.15,18.
22Finally, they said, “Who are you then? We have to give an answer to the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!”
23John answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am only someone shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord!’ ”#Is 40.3 (LXX).
24Some Pharisees had also been sent to John. 25They asked him, “Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”
26John told them, “I use water to baptize people. But here with you is someone you don't know. 27Even though I came first, I am not good enough to untie his sandals.” 28John said this as he was baptizing east of the River Jordan in Bethany.#1.28 Bethany: An unknown village east of the Jordan with the same name as the village near Jerusalem.
The Lamb of God
29The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards him and said:
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.” 31I didn't know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.
32I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. 33Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” 34I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.
Jesus chooses his first disciples
35The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. 36When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” 37John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.
38When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, “What do you want?”
They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” The Hebrew word “Rabbi” means “Teacher”.
39Jesus replied, “Come and see!” It was already about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.
40One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ”.
42Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter”.#1.42 Peter: The Aramaic name “Cephas” and the Greek name “Peter” each mean “rock”.
Jesus chooses Philip and Nathanael
43-44The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the home town of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”
45Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets#1.45 Moses and the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament. wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn't deceitful.”#1.47 Israel…isn't deceitful: Israel (meaning “a man who wrestled with God” or “a prince of God”) was the name that the Lord gave to Jacob (meaning “cheater” or “deceiver”), the famous ancestor of the Jewish people.
48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”
50Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”#1.51 going up and coming down on the Son of Man: When Jacob (see the note at verse 47) was running from his brother Esau, he had a dream in which he saw angels going up and down on a ladder from earth to heaven. See Genesis 32.22-32.#Gn 28.12.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
John 1
1
Story of the Word
1In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
2The Word was with God in the beginning.
3Everything came into being through the Word,
and without the Word
nothing came into being.
What came into being
4through the Word was life,#1.4 Or Everything came into being through the Word,/and without the Word / nothing came into being that came into being. In the Word was life
and the life was the light for all people.
5The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.
6A man named John was sent from God. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. 8He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.
9The true light that shines on all people
was coming into the world.
10The light was in the world,
and the world came into being through the light,
but the world didn’t recognize the light.
11The light came to his own people,
and his own people didn’t welcome him.
12But those who did welcome him,
those who believed in his name,
he authorized to become God’s children,
13born not from blood
nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God.
14The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
15John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”
16From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;
17as the Law was given through Moses,
so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.
18No one has ever seen God.
God the only Son,
who is at the Father’s side,
has made God known.
John’s witness
19This is John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
20John confessed (he didn’t deny but confessed), “I’m not the Christ.”
21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
John said, “I’m not.”
“Are you the prophet?”
John answered, “No.”
22They asked, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John replied,
“I am a voice crying out in the wilderness,
Make the Lord’s path straight, # 1.23 Isa 40:3
just as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24Those sent by the Pharisees 25asked, “Why do you baptize if you aren’t the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
26John answered, “I baptize with water. Someone greater stands among you, whom you don’t recognize. 27He comes after me, but I’m not worthy to untie his sandal straps.” 28This encounter took place across the Jordan in Bethany where John was baptizing.
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is really greater than me because he existed before me.’ 31Even I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be made known to Israel.” 32John testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. 33Even I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and testified that this one is God’s Son.”
Jesus calls disciples
35The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.
38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”
39He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ#1.41 Or Anointed One ). 42He led him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
43The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”
46Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”
Philip said, “Come and see.”
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”
50Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! 51I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.”#1.51 Or Son of Man
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