John 15
Darby Translation
15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 [As to] every branch in me not bearing fruit, he takes it away; and [as to] every one bearing fruit, he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Ye are already clean by reason of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, thus neither [can] ye unless ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, *he* bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.
6 Unless any one abide in me he is cast out as the branch, and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall come to pass to you.
8 In this is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and ye shall become disciples of mine.
9 As the Father has loved me, I also have loved you: abide in my love.
10 If ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
11 I have spoken these things to you that my joy may be in you, and your joy be full.
12 This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love than this, that one should lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends if ye practise whatever I command you.
15 I call you no longer bondmen, for the bondman does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things which I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and have set you that ye should go and [that] ye should bear fruit, and [that] your fruit should abide, that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he may give you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, know that it has hated me before you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, on account of this the world hates you.
20 Remember the word which I said unto you, The bondman is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will keep also yours.
21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they have not known him that sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He that hates me hates also my Father.
24 If I had not done among them the works which no other one has done, they had not had sin; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 But that the word written in their law might be fulfilled, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes forth from with the Father, *he* shall bear witness concerning me;
27 and ye too bear witness, because ye are with me from [the] beginning.
John 15
International Children’s Bible
Jesus Is Like a Vine
15 “I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must remain in the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must remain in me.
5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If a person remains in me and I remain in him, then he produces much fruit. But without me he can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, then he is like a branch that is thrown away. That branch dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. 7 Remain in me and follow my teachings. If you do this, then you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you. 8 You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers. This brings glory to my Father. 9 I loved you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love. 10 I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. 11 I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have. I want your joy to be the fullest joy.
12 “This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I don’t call you servants now. A servant does not know what his master is doing. But now I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work, to go and produce fruit. I want you to produce fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Jesus Warns His Followers
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, then it would love you as it loves its own. But I have chosen you out of the world. So you don’t belong to it. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater than his master. If people did wrong to me, they will do wrong to you, too. And if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours, too. 21 They will do all this to you because of me. They don’t know the One who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me also hates my Father. 24 I did works among them that no one else has ever done. If I had not done those works, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen what I did, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that what is written in their law would be true: ‘They hated me for no reason.’[a]
26 “I will send you the Helper[b] from the Father. He is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me. 27 And you also must tell people about me because you have been with me from the beginning.
Footnotes
- 15:25 ‘They . . . reason.’ These words could be from Psalm 35:19 or Psalm 69:4.
- 15:26; 16:7 Helper “Counselor,” or “Comforter.” Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
