John 15
New King James Version
The True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 (A)Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear (B)more fruit. 3 (C)You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 (D)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much (E)fruit; for without Me you can do (F)nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, (G)he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words (H)abide in you, (I)you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 (J)By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; (K)so you will be My disciples.
Love and Joy Perfected
9 “As the Father (L)loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 (M)If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and (N)that your joy may be full. 12 (O)This is My (P)commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 (Q)Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 (R)You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, (S)for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 (T)You did not choose Me, but I chose you and (U)appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father (V)in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
The World’s Hatred
18 (W)“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 (X)If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet (Y)because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, (Z)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. (AA)If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But (AB)all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 (AC)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, (AD)but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 (AE)He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them (AF)the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have (AG)seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, (AH)‘They hated Me without a cause.’
The Coming Rejection
26 (AI)“But when the [c]Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, (AJ)He will testify of Me. 27 And (AK)you also will bear witness, because (AL)you have been with Me from the beginning.
Footnotes
- John 15:2 Or lifts up
- John 15:7 NU omits you will
- John 15:26 Comforter, Gr. Parakletos
John 15
New Living Translation
Jesus, the True Vine
15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures[a]: ‘They hated me without cause.’
26 “But I will send you the Advocate[b]—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.
John 15
New Century Version
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. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.
5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing. 6 If any do not remain in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. 7 If you remain in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you. 8 You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which 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 and so that your joy will be the fullest possible 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 no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But 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, 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, 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 on account of me, because they do not 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 Whoever hates me also hates my Father. 24 I did works among them that no one else has ever done. If I had not done these works, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen what I have done, 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 Helper “Counselor” or “Comforter.” Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.
John 15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jesus the True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes[a] to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed[b] by the word that I have spoken to you.(A) 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.(B) 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(C) 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become[c] my disciples.(D) 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.(E) 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.(F)
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.(G) 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(H) 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.(I) 15 I do not call you servants[d] any longer, because the servant[e] does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.(J) 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.(K) 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.(L) 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.(M) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.(N) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.(O) 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.(P) 25 It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’(Q)
26 “When the Advocate[f] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.(R) 27 You also are to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.(S)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.