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John 1:1-13
The Message
John 1:1-13
The Message
The Life-Light
1 1-2 The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
3-5 Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.
6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.
9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
Every person entering Life
he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
the world was there through him,
and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten,
not sex-begotten.
John 1:1-9
New International Version
John 1:1-9
New International Version
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C) 2 He was with God in the beginning.(D) 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.(E) 4 In him was life,(F) and that life was the light(G) of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness,(H) and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.(I)
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(J) 7 He came as a witness to testify(K) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.(L) 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light(M) that gives light to everyone(N) was coming into the world.
Footnotes
- John 1:5 Or understood
Proverbs 8:23-31
The Message
Proverbs 8:23-31
The Message
22-31 “God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—
before he did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons,
and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
I was there.
When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
built the vast vault of Heaven,
and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When he drew a boundary for Sea,
posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth’s Foundations,
I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
always enjoying his company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
happily celebrating the human family.
Proverbs 8:23-31
New International Version
Proverbs 8:23-31
New International Version
23 I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;(A)
25 before the mountains were settled in place,(B)
before the hills, I was given birth,(C)
26 before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.(D)
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,(E)
when he marked out the horizon(F) on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above(G)
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,(H)
29 when he gave the sea its boundary(I)
so the waters would not overstep his command,(J)
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.(K)
30 Then I was constantly[a] at his side.(L)
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.(M)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 8:30 Or was the artisan; or was a little child
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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