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Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.

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The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C)

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The Account of Creation

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Or In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, . . . Or When God began to create the heavens and the earth, . . .

Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

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And now, Father, glorify me(A) in your presence with the glory I had with you(B) before the world began.(C)

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13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God.

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13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,(A) and his name is the Word of God.(B)

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17 He existed before anything else,
    and he holds all creation together.

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17 He is before all things,(A) and in him all things hold together.

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Introduction

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,[a] whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Greek What was from the beginning.

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

That which was from the beginning,(A) which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,(B) which we have looked at and our hands have touched(C)—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared;(D) we have seen it and testify to it,(E) and we proclaim to you the eternal life,(F) which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

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13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

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13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,(A) the First and the Last,(B) the Beginning and the End.(C)

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14 So the Word became human[a] and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[b] And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:14a Greek became flesh.
  2. 1:14b Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.

14 The Word became flesh(A) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,(B) the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace(C) and truth.(D)

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He existed in the beginning with God.

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He was with God in the beginning.(A)

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“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,”[a] says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1:8 Greek I am the Alpha and the Omega, referring to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”(A) says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come,(B) the Almighty.”(C)

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Though he was God,[a]
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:6 Or Being in the form of God.

Who, being in very nature[a] God,(A)
    did not consider equality with God(B) something to be used to his own advantage;

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Footnotes

  1. Philippians 2:6 Or in the form of

30 The Father and I are one.”

31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”

33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

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30 I and the Father are one.”(A)

31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,(B) 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”(C)

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22 “The Lord formed me from the beginning,
    before he created anything else.
23 I was appointed in ages past,
    at the very first, before the earth began.
24 I was born before the oceans were created,
    before the springs bubbled forth their waters.
25 Before the mountains were formed,
    before the hills, I was born—
26 before he had made the earth and fields
    and the first handfuls of soil.
27 I was there when he established the heavens,
    when he drew the horizon on the oceans.
28 I was there when he set the clouds above,
    when he established springs deep in the earth.
29 I was there when he set the limits of the seas,
    so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.
And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,
30     I was the architect at his side.
I was his constant delight,
    rejoicing always in his presence.
31 And how happy I was with the world he created;
    how I rejoiced with the human family!

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22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,[a][b]
    before his deeds of old;
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[c] 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)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 8:22 Or way; or dominion
  2. Proverbs 8:22 Or The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work; or The Lord brought me forth at the beginning of his work
  3. Proverbs 8:30 Or was the artisan; or was a little child