John 1

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

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He was with God in the beginning.

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Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

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In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

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The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood ^[1] it.

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There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.

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He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.

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He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

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The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. ^[2]

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He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

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He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

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Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--

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children born not of natural descent, ^[3] nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

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The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, ^[4] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

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John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"

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From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

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For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

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No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, ^{[5] [6]} who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

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Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.

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He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ. ^[7] "

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They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."

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

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John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.'" ^[8]

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Now some Pharisees who had been sent

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questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

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"I baptize with ^[9] water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know.

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He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."

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

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The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

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This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'

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I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

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Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.

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I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

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I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."

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The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.

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When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

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When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

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Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

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"Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

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Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

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The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).

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And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter ^[10] ).

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The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

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Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.

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Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

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"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip.

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When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."

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"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

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Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

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Jesus said, "You believe ^[11] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that."

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He then added, "I tell you ^[12] the truth, you ^[13] shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

1. [5] Or darkness, and the darkness has not overcome
2. [9] Or This was the true light that gives light to every man who comes into the world
3. [13] Greek of bloods
4. [14] Or the Only Begotten
5. [18] Or the Only Begotten
6. [18] Some manuscripts but the only (or only begotten) Son
7. [20] Or Messiah. "The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One"; also in verse 25.
8. [23] Isaiah 40:3
9. [26] Or in; also in verses 31 and 33
10. [42] Both Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) mean rock.
11. [50] Or Do you believe... ?
12. [51] The Greek is plural.
13. [51] The Greek is plural.