John 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Prologue
1 In the beginning(A) was the Word,[a](B)
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.(C)
2 He was with God in the beginning.(D)
3 All things were created(E) through Him,(F)
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created.
4 Life was in Him,[b](G)
and that life was the light(H) of men.
5 That light shines(I) in the darkness,
yet the darkness did not overcome[c] it.(J)
6 There was a man named John(K)
who was sent from God.
7 He came as a witness
to testify about the light,
so that all might believe through him.[d]
8 He was not the light,
but he came to testify(L) about the light.
9 The true light,(M) who gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world.[e](N)
10 He was in the world,
and the world was created(O) through Him,
yet the world did not recognize Him.
11 He came to His own,[f]
and His own people[g] did not receive Him.
12 But to all who did receive(P) Him,(Q)
He gave them the right(R) to be[h] children(S) of God,(T)
to those who believe(U) in His name,(V)
13 who were born,(W)
not of blood,[i]
or of the will(X) of the flesh,(Y)
or of the will of man,[j]
but of God.(Z)
14 The Word(AA) became flesh[k](AB)
and took up residence[l] among us.
We observed His glory,(AC)
the glory as the One and Only(AD) Son[m] from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning Him and exclaimed,
“This was the One of whom I said,
‘The One coming after me(AE) has surpassed me,(AF)
because He existed before me.’”)(AG)
16 Indeed, we have all received grace(AH) after grace
from His fullness,
17 for the law was given through Moses,(AI)
grace and truth(AJ) came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God.[n]
The One and Only(AK) Son[o]—
the One who is at the Father’s(AL) side[p]—
He has revealed Him.(AM)
John the Baptist’s Testimony
19 This is John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem(AN) sent priests(AO) and Levites(AP) to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He did not refuse to answer, but he declared: “I am not the Messiah.”(AQ)
21 “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?”(AR)
“I am not,” he said.
“No,” he answered.
22 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord(AT)[r]—just as Isaiah(AU) the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.(AV) 25 So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with[s] water,”(AW) John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know Him. 27 He is the One coming after me,[t](AX) whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”
28 All this happened in Bethany[u] across the Jordan,[v](AY) where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God,(AZ) who takes away the sin(BA) of the world! 30 This is the One I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’ 31 I didn’t know Him,(BB) but I came baptizing with[w] water so He might be revealed(BC) to Israel.”
32 And John testified, “I watched the Spirit(BD) descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him.(BE) 33 I didn’t know Him, but He[x] who sent me to baptize with[y] water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with[z] the Holy Spirit.’(BF) 34 I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”[aa](BG)
35 Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi”(BH) (which means “Teacher”), “where are You staying?”
39 “Come and you’ll see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day. It was about 10 in the morning.[ab]
40 Andrew,(BI) Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Him. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”[ac](BJ) (which means “Anointed(BK) One”), 42 and he brought Simon to Jesus.
When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon, son of John.[ad] You will be called Cephas”(BL) (which means “Rock”).
Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day He[ae] decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip(BM) and told him, “Follow Me!”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida,(BN) the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael[af](BO) and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets(BP)): Jesus the son of Joseph,(BQ) from Nazareth!”(BR)
46 “Can anything good(BS) come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.
“Come and see,” Philip answered.
47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite;(BT) no deceit is in him.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.
49 “Rabbi,”(BU) Nathanael replied, “You are the Son(BV) of God! You are the King of Israel!”(BW)
50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You[ag] will see greater things than this.” 51 Then He said, “I assure you: You[ah] will see heaven opened and the angels of God(BX) ascending and descending(BY) on the Son of Man.”(BZ)
Footnotes
- John 1:1 The Word (Gk Logos) is a title for Jesus as the communication and the revealer of God the Father; Jn 1:14,18; Rv 19:13.
- John 1:4 Other punctuation is possible: . . . not one thing was created. What was created in Him was life
- John 1:5 Or grasp, or comprehend, or overtake; Jn 12:35
- John 1:7 Or through it (the light)
- John 1:9 Or The true light who comes into the world gives light to everyone, or The true light enlightens everyone coming into the world.
- John 1:11 The same Gk adjective is used twice in this verse: the first refers to all that Jesus owned as Creator (to His own); the second refers to the Jews (His own people).
- John 1:11 The same Gk adjective is used twice in this verse: the first refers to all that Jesus owned as Creator (to His own); the second refers to the Jews (His own people).
- John 1:12 Or become
- John 1:13 Lit bloods; the pl form of blood occurs only here in the NT. It may refer either to lineal descent (that is, blood from one’s father and mother) or to the OT sacrificial system (that is, the various blood sacrifices). Neither is the basis for birth into the family of God.
- John 1:13 Or not of human lineage, or of human capacity, or of human volition
- John 1:14 The eternally existent Word (vv. 1-2) took on full humanity but without sin; Heb 4:15.
- John 1:14 Or and dwelt in a tent; lit and tabernacled; this word occurs only here in John. A related word, referring to the Festival of Tabernacles, occurs only in 7:2; Ex 40:34-38.
- John 1:14 Son is implied from the reference to the Father and from Gk usage.
- John 1:18 Since God is an infinite being, no one can see Him in His absolute essential nature; Ex 33:18-23.
- John 1:18 Other mss read God
- John 1:18 Lit is in the bosom of the Father
- John 1:21 Probably the Prophet in Dt 18:15
- John 1:23 Is 40:3
- John 1:26 Or in
- John 1:27 Other mss add who came before me
- John 1:28 Other mss read in Bethabara
- John 1:28 Another Bethany, near Jerusalem, was the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary; Jn 11:1.
- John 1:31 Or in
- John 1:33 He refers to God the Father, who gave John a sign to help him identify the Messiah. Vv. 32-34 indicate that John did not know that Jesus was the Messiah until the Spirit descended upon Him at His baptism.
- John 1:33 Or in
- John 1:33 Or in
- John 1:34 Other mss read is the Chosen One of God
- John 1:39 Lit about the tenth hour. Various methods of reckoning time were used in the ancient world. John probably used a different method from the other 3 Gospels. If John used the same method of time reckoning as the other 3 Gospels, the translation would be: It was about four in the afternoon.
- John 1:41 In the NT, the word Messiah translates the Gk word Christos (“Anointed One”), except here and in Jn 4:25 where it translates Messias.
- John 1:42 Other mss read Simon, son of Jonah
- John 1:43 Or he, referring either to Simon Peter (vv. 41-42) or Andrew (vv. 40-41)
- John 1:45 Probably the Bartholomew of the other Gospels and Acts
- John 1:50 In Gk, the word you is sg and refers to Nathanael.
- John 1:51 In Gk, the word you is pl and refers to Nathanael and the other disciples.
John 1
New Century Version
Christ Comes to the World
1 In the beginning there was the Word.[a] The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. 4 In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered[b] it.
6 There was a man named John[c] who was sent by God. 7 He came to tell people the truth about the Light so that through him all people could hear about the Light and believe. 8 John was not the Light, but he came to tell people the truth about the Light. 9 The true Light that gives light to all was coming into the world!
10 The Word was in the world, and the world was made by him, but the world did not know him. 11 He came to the world that was his own, but his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They did not become his children in any human way—by any human parents or human desire. They were born of God.
14 The Word became a human and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father—and he was full of grace and truth. 15 John tells the truth about him and cries out, saying, “This is the One I told you about: ‘The One who comes after me is greater than I am, because he was living before me.’”
16 Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after another. 17 The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father,[d] and he has shown us what God is like.
John Tells People About Jesus
19 Here is the truth John[e] told when the leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 John spoke freely and did not refuse to answer. He said, “I am not the Christ.”
21 So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”[f]
He answered, “No, I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”[g] they asked.
He answered, “No.”
22 Then they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to tell those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am the voice of one
calling out in the desert:
‘Make the road straight for the Lord.’” Isaiah 40:3
24 Some Pharisees who had been sent asked John: 25 “If you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet, why do you baptize people?”
26 John answered, “I baptize with water, but there is one here with you that you don’t know about. 27 He is the One who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie the strings of his sandals.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing people.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look, the Lamb of God,[h] who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the One I was talking about when I said, ‘A man will come after me, but he is greater than I am, because he was living before me.’ 31 Even I did not know who he was, although I came baptizing with water so that the people of Israel would know who he is.”
32-33 Then John said, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven in the form of a dove and rest on him. Until then I did not know who the Christ was. But the God who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man; he is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this happen, and I tell you the truth: This man is the Son of God.”[i]
The First Followers of Jesus
35 The next day John[j] was there again with two of his followers. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”[k]
37 The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (“Rabbi” means “Teacher.”)
39 He answered, “Come and see.” So the two men went with Jesus and saw where he was staying and stayed there with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40 One of the two men who followed Jesus after they heard John speak about him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (“Messiah” means “Christ.”)
42 Then Andrew took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter.”[l])
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, where Andrew and Peter lived. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
46 But Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
47 As Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is truly an Israelite. There is nothing false in him.”
48 Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me.”
49 Then Nathanael said to Jesus, “Teacher, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
50 Jesus said to Nathanael, “Do you believe simply because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.” 51 And Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and ‘angels of God going up and coming down’[m] on the Son of Man.”
Footnotes
- 1:1 Word The Greek word is “logos,” meaning any kind of communication; it could be translated “message.” Here, it means Christ, because Christ was the way God told people about himself.
- 1:5 overpowered This can also be translated, “understood.”
- 1:6 John John the Baptist, who preached to people about Christ’s coming (Matthew 3, Luke 3).
- 1:18 But . . . Father This could be translated, “But the only God is very close to the Father.” Also, some Greek copies read “But the only Son is very close to the Father.”
- 1:19 John John the Baptist, who preached to people about Christ’s coming (Matthew 3, Luke 3).
- 1:21 Elijah A prophet who spoke for God. He lived hundreds of years before Christ and was expected to return before Christ (Malachi 4:5–6).
- 1:21 Prophet They probably meant the prophet that God told Moses he would send (Deuteronomy 18:15–19).
- 1:29 Lamb of God Name for Jesus. Jesus is like the lambs that were offered for a sacrifice to God.
- 1:34 the Son of God Some Greek copies read “God’s Chosen One.”
- 1:35 John John the Baptist, who preached to people about Christ’s coming (Matthew 3, Luke 3).
- 1:36 Lamb of God Name for Jesus. Jesus is like the lambs that were offered for a sacrifice to God.
- 1:42 Peter The Greek name “Peter,” like the Aramaic name “Cephas,” means “rock.”
- 1:51 ‘angels . . . down’ These words are from Genesis 28:12.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
