1 ^(A)In the beginning was ^(B)the Word, and the Word was ^(C)with God, and ^(D)the Word was God. ^2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him ^[b]not even one thing came into being that has come into being. ^4 (F)In Him was life, and the life was ^(G)the Light of mankind. ⁵ And ^(H)the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[c]grasp it.

The Witness John the Baptist

⁶ A man ^[d]came, one sent from God, and his name was ^(I)John. ^7 [e]He came ^[f](J)as a witness, to testify about the Light, ^(K)so that all might believe through him. ^8 [g](L)He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

^9 [h]This was ^(M)the true Light ^[i]that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and ^(N)the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not ^[j]know Him. ¹¹ He came to His ^[k]own, and His own people did not ^[l]accept Him. ¹² But ^[m]as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become ^(O)children of God, ^(P)to those who ^[n]believe in His name, ^13 (Q)who were ^[o]born, not of ^[p]blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.

The Word Made Flesh

¹⁴ And ^(R)the Word ^(S)became flesh, and ^(T)dwelt among us; and ^(U)we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of ^(V)grace and ^(W)truth. ¹⁵ John *^(X)testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘^(Y)He who is coming after me has proved to be ^[q]my superior, ^(Z)because He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His ^(AA)fullness ^[r]we have all received, and ^[s]grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For ^(AB)the Law was given through Moses; ^(AC)grace and ^(AD)truth ^[t]were realized through Jesus Christ. ^18 (AE)No one has seen God at any time; ^(AF)God the only Son, who is ^(AG)in the ^[u]arms of the Father, ^(AH)He has ^[v]explained Him.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹ This is ^(AI)the testimony of John, when ^(AJ)the Jews sent priests and Levites to him ^(AK)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny; and this is what he confessed: “^(AL)I am not the ^[w]Christ.” ²¹ And so they asked him, “What then? Are you ^(AM)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(AN)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am ^(AO)the voice of one calling ^[x]out in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ And the messengers had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ^[y]Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^(AP)the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, saying, “^(AQ)I baptize ^[z]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is ^(AR)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the ^(AS)strap of His sandal.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany ^(AT)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people.

Moses Given Signs

4 Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or ^(A)listen ^[a]to what I say? For they may say, ‘^(B)The Lord has not appeared to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “^(C)A staff.” ³ Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ^(D)it turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his ^[b]hand— ⁵ “so that ^(E)they may believe that ^(F)the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶ The Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe.” So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^(G)leprous like snow. ⁷ Then He said, “Put your hand inside the fold of your robe again.” So he put his hand into the fold again, and when he took it out of the fold, behold, ^(H)it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “So if they will not believe you nor ^[c]pay attention to the ^[d]evidence of the first ^[e]sign, they may believe the ^[f]evidence of the last ^[g]sign. ⁹ But if they will not believe even these two ^[h]signs nor pay attention to what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile ^(I)will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, ^(J)I have never been ^[i]eloquent, neither ^[j]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am ^[k]slow of speech and ^[l]slow of tongue.” ¹¹ But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or ^(K)who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now then go, and ^(L)I Myself will be with your mouth, and ^(M)instruct you in what you are to say.” ¹³ But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by ^[m]whomever You will.”

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that ^[n]he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, ^(N)he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be ^[o]overjoyed. ¹⁵ So you are to speak to him and ^(O)put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do. ^16 (P)He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. ¹⁷ And you shall take in your hand ^(Q)this staff, ^(R)with which you shall perform the signs.”

¹⁸ Then Moses departed and returned to ^(S)his father-in-law ^[p]Jethro, and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go ^[q]back to Egypt, for ^(T)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his ^(U)sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the ^(V)staff of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go ^[r]back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all ^(W)the wonders which I have put in your ^[s]power; but ^(X)I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(Y)Israel is My son, My firstborn. ²³ So I said to you, ‘^(Z)Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, ^(AA)I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

^8 (A)See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through ^(B)philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the ^(C)elementary principles of the world, ^[a]rather than in accordance with Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(D)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(E)made ^[b]complete, and ^(F)He is the head ^[c]over every ^(G)ruler and authority; ¹¹ and in Him ^(H)you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of ^(I)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been ^(J)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(K)raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(L)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And ^[d]when you were ^(M)dead ^[e]in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(N)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, ¹⁴ having canceled ^(O)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^(P)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had ^[f](Q)disarmed the ^(R)rulers and authorities, He ^(S)made a public display of them, having ^(T)triumphed over them through ^[g]Him.

¹⁶ Therefore, no one is to ^[h](U)act as your judge in regard to ^(V)food and ^(W)drink, or in respect to a ^(X)festival or a ^(Y)new moon, or a ^(Z)Sabbath ^[i]day— ¹⁷ things which are only a ^(AA)shadow of what is to come; but the ^[j]substance ^[k]belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Take care that no one keeps ^[l](AB)defrauding you of your prize by ^(AC)delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, ^[m]taking his stand on visions he has seen, ^[n](AD)inflated without cause by his ^(AE)fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding firmly to ^(AF)the head, from whom ^(AG)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ^[o]ligaments, grows with a growth ^[p]which is from God.

^20 (AH)If you have died with Christ ^[q]to the ^(AI)elementary principles of the world, ^(AJ)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to ^(AK)decrees, such as, ²¹ “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” ²² (which all refer ^(AL)to things destined to perish ^[r]with use)—in accordance with the ^(AM)commandments and teachings of man? ²³ These are matters which do have the ^[s]appearance of wisdom in ^[t](AN)self-made religion and humility and ^(AO)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against ^(AP)fleshly indulgence.

Put On the New Self

3 Therefore, if you have been ^(AQ)raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, ^(AR)seated at the right hand of God. ^2 [u](AS)Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. ³ For you have ^(AT)died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, ^(AU)who is our life, is revealed, ^(AV)then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

^5 (AW)Therefore, ^[v]treat ^(AX)the parts of your earthly body as dead to ^(AY)sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which ^[w]amounts to idolatry. ⁶ For it is because of these things that ^(AZ)the wrath of God is coming ^[x]upon the ^[y]sons of disobedience, ⁷ and ^(BA)in them you also once walked, when you were living ^[z]in them. ⁸ But now you also, ^(BB)rid yourselves of all of them: ^(BC)anger, wrath, malice, slander, and ^(BD)obscene speech from your mouth. ^9 [aa](BE)Do not lie to one another, since you ^(BF)stripped off the old ^[ab]self with its evil practices, ¹⁰ and have ^(BG)put on the new self, which is being ^[ac](BH)renewed to a true knowledge ^(BI)according to the image of the One who ^(BJ)created it— ¹¹ a renewal in which ^(BK)there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, ^(BL)circumcised and uncircumcised, ^[ad](BM)barbarian, ^[ae]Scythian, ^(BN)slave, and free, but ^(BO)Christ is all, and in all.