John 1
1
The Prologue to John’s Gospel
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2This one was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that#Or “came into being. What …,” beginning a new sentence connected with the following verse. A major punctuation problem is involved, since the earliest manuscripts have no punctuation, but some important later ones place the punctuation before this phrase, effectively connecting it to v. 4: “What has come into being was life in him” has come into being. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.#Or “humankind” 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome#Or “comprehend” (if primarily referring to people in the world) it.
6A man came, sent from God, whose name was#Literally “the name to him” John. 7This one came for a witness, in order that he could testify about the light, so that all would believe through him. 8That one was not the light, but came#The verb is implied from the previous verse, and must be supplied in the English translation in order that he could testify about the light. 9The true light, who gives light to every person, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, and the world did not recognize#Or “acknowledge” him. 11He came to his own things, and his own people did not receive him. 12But as many as received him—to those who believe in his name—he gave to them authority to become children of God, 13who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a husband, but of God.
14And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified about him and cried out, saying, “This one was he about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ” 16For from his fullness we have all received, and grace after grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. 18No one has seen God at any time; the one and only, God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father—that one has made him#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation known.
John the Baptist Testifies to Jesus
19And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent#Some manuscripts have “sent to him” priests and Levites from Jerusalem so that they could ask him, “Who are you?” 20And he confessed—and he did not deny, and confessed—“I am not the Christ!” 21And they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not!” “Are you the Prophet?”#A reference to the “Prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15 (see Acts 3:22) And he answered, “No!” 22Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23He said,
“I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’#A quotation from Isa 40:3
just as Isaiah the prophet said.” 24(And they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25And they asked him and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water. In your midst stands one whom you do not know—27the one who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie#Literally “that I might untie” the strap of his sandal!” 28These things took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29On the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This one is the one about whom I said, ‘After me is coming a man who is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ 31And I did not know him, but in order that he could be revealed to Israel, because of this I came baptizing with water.”
32And John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and remaining upon him. 33And I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water, that one said to me, ‘The one upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him—this one is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I have seen and testify that this one is the Chosen One#Some manuscripts have “the Son of God” of God.
Two of John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35On the next day again John was standing there,#*The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied and two of his disciples, 36and looking at Jesus as he#*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“walking by”) which is understood as temporal was walking by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38And Jesus, turning around and seeing them following him,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“translated”) which is understood as temporal translated “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and you will see!” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day (it was about the tenth hour).
Andrew Declares Jesus to be the Messiah
40Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 41This one first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated “Christ”). 42He brought him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon the son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is interpreted “Peter”).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43On the next day he wanted to depart for Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” 44(Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.) 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets wrote about—Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth!” 46And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see!”
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Look! A true Israelite#Literally “truly an Israelite” in whom is no deceit!” 48Nathanael said to him, “From where do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“were”) which is understood as temporal were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!” 50Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these!” 51And he said to him, “Truly, truly I say to all of you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
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John 1
1
Christ Comes to the World
1In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. 4In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.
6There was a man named John who was sent by God. 7He came to tell people the truth about the Light so that through him all people could hear about the Light and believe. 8John was not the Light, but he came to tell people the truth about the Light. 9The true Light that gives light to all was coming into the world!
10The Word was in the world, and the world was made by him, but the world did not know him. 11He came to the world that was his own, but his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God. 13They did not become his children in any human way—by any human parents or human desire. They were born of God.
14The Word became a human and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father—and he was full of grace and truth. 15John tells the truth about him and cries out, saying, “This is the One I told you about: ‘The One who comes after me is greater than I am, because he was living before me.’ ”
16Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after another. 17The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father, and he has shown us what God is like.
John Tells People About Jesus
19Here is the truth John told when the leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
20John spoke freely and did not refuse to answer. He said, “I am not the Christ.”
21So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He answered, “No, I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” they asked.
He answered, “No.”
22Then they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to tell those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am the voice of one
calling out in the desert:
‘Make the road straight for the Lord.’ ”#Isaiah 40:3
24Some Pharisees who had been sent asked John: 25“If you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet, why do you baptize people?”
26John answered, “I baptize with water, but there is one here with you that you don’t know about. 27He is the One who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie the strings of his sandals.”
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing people.
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the One I was talking about when I said, ‘A man will come after me, but he is greater than I am, because he was living before me.’ 31Even I did not know who he was, although I came baptizing with water so that the people of Israel would know who he is.”
32-33Then John said, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven in the form of a dove and rest on him. Until then I did not know who the Christ was. But the God who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man; he is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen this happen, and I tell you the truth: This man is the Son of God.”
The First Followers of Jesus
35The next day John was there again with two of his followers. 36When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus. 38When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (“Rabbi” means “Teacher.”)
39He answered, “Come and see.” So the two men went with Jesus and saw where he was staying and stayed there with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40One of the two men who followed Jesus after they heard John speak about him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (“Messiah” means “Christ.”)
42Then Andrew took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter.”)
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, where Andrew and Peter lived. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
46But Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
47As Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is truly an Israelite. There is nothing false in him.”
48Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me.”
49Then Nathanael said to Jesus, “Teacher, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
50Jesus said to Nathanael, “Do you believe simply because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.” 51And Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and ‘angels of God going up and coming down’ on the Son of Man.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.