John 1:12-29

English Standard Version

¹²But to all who did receive him, ^(A)who believed in his name, ^(B)he gave the right ^(C)to become ^(D)children of God, ¹³who ^(E)were born, ^(F)not of blood ^(G)nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴And ^(H)the Word ^(I)became flesh and ^(J)dwelt among us, ^(K)and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son^[a] from the Father, full of ^(L)grace and ^(M)truth. ¹⁵(^(N)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ^(O)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶For from ^(P)his fullness we have all received, ^(Q)grace upon grace.^[b] ¹⁷For ^(R)the law was given through Moses; ^(S)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸^(T)No one has ever seen God; ^(U)the only God,^[c] who is at the Father's side,^[d] ^(V)he has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹And this is the ^(W)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ^(X)“Who are you?” ²⁰^(Y)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹And they asked him, “What then? ^(Z)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(AA)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³He said, “I am ^(AB)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight^[e] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) ²⁵They asked him, ^(AC)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶John answered them, ^(AD)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, ²⁷even ^(AE)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.