John 1
Legacy Standard Bible
The Deity of Jesus Christ
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 nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 (F)In Him was life, and the life was (G)the Light of men. 5 (H)And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
The Witness of John the Baptist
6 There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was [b](I)John. 7 [c]He came [d](J)as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, (K)so that all might believe through him. 8 [e](L)He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.
9 There was (M)the true Light [f]which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. 10 He was in the world, and (N)the world [g]was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to what was His [h]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become (O)children of God, even (P)to those who believe in His name, 13 (Q)who were [i]born, not of [j]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Became Flesh
14 And (R)the Word (S)became flesh, and [k](T)dwelt among us, and (U)we beheld His glory, glory as of the [l]only begotten from the Father, full of (V)grace and (W)truth. 15 John *(X)bore witness about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘(Y)He who comes after me [m]has been ahead of me, (Z)for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His (AA)fullness [n]we have all received, and grace [o]upon grace. 17 For (AB)the Law was given through Moses; (AC)grace and (AD)truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (AE)No one has seen God at any time; (AF)the only begotten God who is (AG)in the bosom of the Father, (AH)He has explained Him.
A Voice in the Wilderness
19 And this is (AI)the witness of John, when (AJ)the [p]Jews sent to him priests and Levites (AK)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “(AL)I am not the [q]Christ.” 21 And 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 Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (AO)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the [r]Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the [s]Christ, nor Elijah, nor (AP)the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, saying, “(AQ)I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 This One is (AR)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the (AS)strap of His sandal.” 28 These things took place in Bethany (AT)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 On the next day, he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, (AU)the Lamb of God who (AV)takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘(AW)After me comes a man who has been [t]ahead of me, (AX)for He existed before me.’ 31 I did not know [u]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John (AY)bore witness saying, “(AZ)I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abided on Him. 33 And I did not know [v]Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The One upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on Him, (BA)this is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen, and have borne witness that this is (BB)the Son of God.”
Behold, the Lamb of God
35 (BC)On the next day, John again was standing [w]with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, (BD)the Lamb of God!” 37 And the two disciples heard him speak and followed Jesus. 38 And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, He *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “(BE)Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day. It was about the [x]tenth hour. 40 (BF)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first *found his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the (BG)Messiah” (which translated means [y]Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of (BH)John; you shall be called (BI)Cephas” (which is translated [z](BJ)Peter).
43 (BK)On the next day, He desired to go into (BL)Galilee, and He *found (BM)Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “(BN)Follow Me.” 44 Now (BO)Philip was from (BP)Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 (BQ)Philip *found (BR)Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom (BS)Moses in the Law and also (BT)the Prophets wrote—Jesus of (BU)Nazareth, (BV)the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “(BW)Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (BX)Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said about him, “Behold, truly an (BY)Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “From where do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before (BZ)Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “(CA)Rabbi, You are (CB)the Son of God; You are the (CC)King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see (CD)the heavens opened and (CE)the angels of God ascending and descending on (CF)the Son of Man.”
Footnotes
- John 1:2 Lit This one
- John 1:6 Gr Joannes, Heb Johanan; so in John
- John 1:7 Lit This one
- John 1:7 Lit for testimony
- John 1:8 Lit That one
- John 1:9 Or which enlightens every person coming into the world
- John 1:10 Or came into being, cf. John 1:3
- John 1:11 Or own things
- John 1:13 Or begotten
- John 1:13 Lit bloods
- John 1:14 Or tabernacled, dwelt temporarily
- John 1:14 Or unique, only one of His kind
- John 1:15 Or has a higher rank than
- John 1:16 Lit we all received
- John 1:16 Lit for
- John 1:19 Often refers to Jewish leaders in John’s gospel
- John 1:20 Messiah
- John 1:23 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 40:3
- John 1:25 Messiah
- John 1:30 Or has a higher rank than
- John 1:31 As the Messiah
- John 1:33 As the Messiah
- John 1:35 Lit and
- John 1:39 10 a.m.
- John 1:41 Gr Christos; lit Anointed One
- John 1:42 Gr Petros; lit stone
Yochanan 1
Orthodox Jewish Bible
1 Bereshis (in the Beginning) was the Dvar Hashem [YESHAYAH 55:11; BERESHIS 1:3], and the Dvar Hashem was agav (along with, etzel, Mishle 8:30;30:4) Hashem, and the Dvar Hashem was nothing less, by nature, than Elohim! [Psa 56:11(10); Yn 17:5; Rev. 19:13 i.e., the Ma’amar Memra]
2 Bereshis (in the Beginning) this Dvar Hashem was with Hashem [Prov 8:30].
3 All things through him came to be, and without him came to be not one thing which came into being. [Ps 33:6,9; Prov 30:4]
4 In him was Chayyim (Life) and the Chayyim (Life) was the Ohr (Light) of Bnei Adam. [TEHILLIM 36:10 (9)]
5 And the Ohr shines in the choshech [TEHILLIM 18:28], and the choshech did not grasp it. [YESHAYAH 9:1]
6 There came an ish haElohim (a man of G-d), having been sent from Hashem. His name was Yochanan.
7 This Yochanan came for an eidus (witness), that he might give solemn edut (testimony) about the Ohr, that kol Bnei Adam might have emunah through him.
8 This ish haElohim was not the Ohr, but he came that he might give solemn edut (testimony) about the Ohr.
9 The Ohr, the Ohr HaAmitti (the True Light), which gives rational haskalah (enlightenment) to kol Bnei Adam (all mankind), was coming into the Olam Hazeh.
10 He was in the Olam Hazeh, the Olam (world) came to be through him [Ps 33:6,9]; yet the Olam Hazeh did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own, and his own were not mekabel (accepting) the Kabbalus HaMalchus of him [YESHAYAH 53:3].
12 But as many as him lekabel pnei Moshiach (receive him as Moshiach), to them he gave the tokef (authority) to become in fact yeladim haElohim [DEVARIM 14:1].
13 He gave this tokef to the ones whose being born was not by the agency of natural descent, nor by the ratzon (will) of basar (fallen human nature), nor by the ratzon of a gever (male)—rather, to the ones born of G-d (Yn 3:3,7).
14 And the Dvar Hashem took on gufaniyut (corporeality) and made his sukkah, his Mishkan (Tabernacle) among us [YESHAYAH 7:14], and we [Shlichim, 1Y 1:1-2] gazed upon his Kavod [SHEMOT 33:18; 40:34; YESHAYAH 60:1-2], the Shechinah of the Ben Yachid from Elohim HaAv, full of Hashem’s Chesed v’Emes.
15 And Yochanan gives solemn edut (testimony) about him and has cried out, This was he about whom I said, Hu HaBah (He who comes [Gn 49:10; Ezek 21:27]) after me is really before me in priority, because, before I came to be, he was (Yn 8:58).
16 For from the kol melo (all the plentitude) of him we all received Chesed upon Chesed.
17 Because the matan Torah (giving of the Torah) was graciously bestowed through Moshe [Rabbeinu] [DEVARIM 32:46 SHEMOT 31:18; 34:28], but Chesed and Emes of Hashem came through [Rebbe,] Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua [Ex 34:6; Ps 25:10; 40:11; 85:11; Yochanan 1:49].
18 No one has ever seen Hashem [Ex 33:20]. It is Elohim the Ben Yachid [who shares the nature of Hashem, the Chochman Ben Elohim at his side, see very importantly Mishle 8:30; 30:4)], it is he, the one being in the kheyk (bosom) of HaAv, this one is Hashem’s definitive midrash (exegesis).
19 And this is the solemn edut (testimony) of Yochanan, when those of Yehudah sent kohanim and L’viim from Yerushalayim to him that they might ask him, Mi atah? (Who are you?).
20 Yochanan made hoda’a (confession, admission)‖he did not fail to make hoda’a‖and said clearly, I am not the [Rebbe,] Melech HaMoshiach.
21 And they asked Yochanan, What, then? Are you Eliyahu HaNavi? And Yochanan says, I am not. Are you the Navi? (DEVARIM 18:15,18) And he answered, Lo (No).
22 They said then to him, Mi atah? That we may give a teshuvah (answer) to the ones who sent us. What do you say about yourself?
23 Yochanan said, I am a KOL KOREY BAMIDBAR, make straight the DERECH HASHEM! (YESHAYAH 40:3, TARGUM HASHIVIM), as Yeshayah HaNavi said.
24 And the ones that had been sent were of the Perushim.
25 And the Perushim asked Yochanan, If you are not the [Rebbe,] Melech HaMoshiach nor Eliyahu nor the Navi, then why do you administer the mikveh mayim’s tevilah?
26 Yochanan answered the Perushim, I give a tevilah in a mikveh mayim; among you is standing one of whom you do not have da’as.
27 Hu HaBah (he who comes, i.e., the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach who is coming into the Olam Hazeh), that is, He who comes after me, is one that I am not worthy even to untie the thong of his sandal.
28 These events took place in Beit-Anyah (Bethany), beyond the Yarden River, which Yochanan was using as a mikveh mayim in which to administer the tevilah.
29 On the next day, Yochanan sees Yehoshua coming to him, and Yochanan says, Hinei! The Seh HaElohim (Gn 22:8; Ex 12:5-13; Isa 53:7), the one carrying away the avonot HaOlam Hazeh (sins of this world i.e., as the sa’ir l’Azazel kapporah, Isa 53:6 7,12; Lv 16:22).
30 This is he about whom I said, After me comes an ISH (ZECHARYAH 6:12) who is really before me in priority, because, before I came to be, he was (Yochanan 8:58).
31 And I did not recognize him, but that he might be manifested to Klal Yisroel, I came, therefore, administering the mikveh mayim’s tevilah.
32 And Yochanan gave solemn edut, I have seen the Ruach Hakodesh descending like a yonah out of Shomayim and remaining upon him. (YESHAYAH 11:2)
33 And I did not recognize him, but the One who sent me to give the mikveh mayim’s tevilah said to me, Upon whomever you see the Ruach Hakodesh descending and remaining, this is the One giving the tevilah in the Ruach Hakodesh. [YOEL 3:1 (2:28)]
34 And I have seen and I have given solemn edut (testimony) that this One is the Ben HaElohim. [2Sm 7:14; Ps 2:7; 1Ch 17:10-14; Prov 8:30; 30:4]
35 On the next day, Yochanan was standing with two of his talmidim.
36 And as Yochanan watched Yehoshua walking by, Yochanan says, Hinei the Seh HaElohim! (Gn 22:8; Ex 12:5-13; Isa 53:7)
37 And the two talmidim heard Yochanan speaking, and they followed after him.
38 When he turned and saw them following, he says to them, Mah tevakkeshun? (What do you seek?) And they said to him, Rebbe (which means, being translated, my Master Moreh [teacher]), where is your mekom megurim (dwelling place)?
39 And he says to them, Bo’u u’re’u! (Come and see!) They went, therefore, and saw his mekom megurim, and remained with him that day. The hour was about the tenth (four o’clock in the afternoon).
40 One of the two was the achi Shimon Kefa. His name was Andrew. He was one of the two who heard Yochanan and followed him.
41 Andrew first finds his own achi Shimon Kefa and says to him, We have found the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach!—the word, being translated, means "Messiah". [DANIEL 9:25; TEHILLIM 2:2; SHMUEL ALEF 2:10]
42 Andrew led Shimon to Yehoshua. When Yehoshua gazed at Shimon, he said, You are Shimon Bar Yonah. You will be called Kefa, which is translated Petros [Rock]. [BERESHIS 17:5,15; 32:28; 35:10]
43 On the next day he wanted to go out into the Galil, and he finds Philippos, and says to Philippos, Follow me [as my talmid]. [MELACHIM ALEF 19:19]
44 Now Philippos was from Beit Tzaidah, the shtetl of Andrew and Kefa.
45 Philippos finds Natan’el and says to him, He whom Moshe [Rabbeinu] wrote of in the Sefer Torah, he whom the Nevi’im also wrote of—Yehoshua ben Yosef [ben Dovid], from Natzeret we have found! [DEVARIM 18:18; YESHAYAH 7:14; 9:5[6]; YECHEZKEL 34:23]
46 And Natan’el said to Philippos, Can anything good come out of Natzeret? [7:41; YESHAYAH 11:1; ZECHARYAH 6:11 12] Philippos says to Natan’el, Bo’u u’re’u! (Come and see!) [MELACHIM BAIS 6:13]
47 Yehoshua saw Natan’el coming to him, and he says, Hinei a genuine Ben Yisroel, in whom is no MIRMAH (deceit). [TEHILLIM 32:2; TZEFANYAH 3:13; YESHAYAH 53:9]
48 Natan’el says to him, How do you have da’as of me? In reply, Yehoshua said to him, Before you received your kri’ah (call) from Philippos, while you were beneath the etz hate’enah (fig tree, MICHOH 4:4; ZECHARYAH 3:10), I watched you.
49 In reply, Natan’el said to him, Rebbe, you are the Ben HaElohim [SHMUEL BAIS 7:14; TEHILLIM 2:7;89:26-27], the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach of Yisroel.
50 In reply, Yehoshua said to Natan’el, Because I told you that I watched you beneath the etz hate’enah, do you have emunah (faith)? Greater than these things you will see.
51 And he says to Natan’el, Omein, omein, I say to you, you will see Shomayim having been opened and malachim (angels) of Hashem ascending and descending on the Ben HaAdam [i.e, Moshiach DANIEL 7:13-14; TZEFANYAH 3:15; BERESHIS 28:12].
John 1
Contemporary English Version
The Word of Life
1 In the beginning was the one
who is called the Word.
The Word was with God
and was truly God.
2 From the very beginning
the Word was with God.
3 And with this Word,
God created all things.
Nothing was made
without the Word.
Everything that was created
4 received its life from him,
and his life gave light
to everyone.
5 The light keeps shining
in the dark,
and darkness has never
put it out.[a]
6 (A) God sent a man named John,
7 who came to tell
about the light
and to lead all people
to have faith.
8 John wasn't this light.
He came only to tell
about the light.
9 The true light that shines
on everyone
was coming into the world.
10 The Word was in the world,
but no one knew him,
though God had made the world
with his Word.
11 He came into his own world,
but his own nation
did not welcome him.
12 Yet some people accepted him
and put their faith in him.
So he gave them the right
to be the children of God.
13 They were not God's children
by nature or because
of any human desires.
God himself was the one
who made them his children.
14 The Word became
a human being
and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory,
the glory of the only Son
of the Father.
From him the complete gifts
of undeserved grace and truth
have come down to us.
15 John spoke about him and shouted, “This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.”
16 Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.[b] 17 The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.
John the Baptist Tells about Jesus
(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.15-17)
19-20 The religious authorities in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 (B) Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, “No, I am not!” And when they asked if he were the Prophet,[c] he also said “No!”
22 Finally, they said, “Who are you then? We have to give an answer to the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!”
23 (C) John answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am only someone shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord!’ ”
24 Some Pharisees had also been sent to John. 25 They asked him, “Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”
26 John told them, “I use water to baptize people. But here with you is someone you don't know. 27 Even though I came first, I am not good enough to untie his sandals.” 28 John said this as he was baptizing east of the Jordan River in Bethany.[d]
The Lamb of God
29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said:
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come, who is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.” 31 I didn't know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.
32 I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. 33 Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” 34 I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.
The First Disciples of Jesus
35 The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” 37 John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.
38 When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, “What do you want?”
They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” The Hebrew word “Rabbi” means “Teacher.”
39 Jesus replied, “Come and see!” It was already about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.
40 One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”
42 Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.”[e]
Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael
43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Follow me.”
45 Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets[f] wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn't deceitful.”[g]
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49 Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51 (D) I tell you for certain you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”[h]
Footnotes
- 1.5 put it out: Or “understood it.”
- 1.16 one blessing after another: Or “one blessing in place of another.”
- 1.21 the Prophet: Many of the Jewish people expected God to send them a prophet who would be like Moses, but with even greater power (see Deuteronomy 18.15,18).
- 1.28 Bethany: An unknown village east of the Jordan with the same name as the village near Jerusalem.
- 1.42 Peter: The Aramaic name “Cephas” and the Greek name “Peter” each mean “rock.”
- 1.45 Moses and the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament.
- 1.47 Israel … isn't deceitful: Israel (meaning “a man who wrestled with God” or “a prince of God”) was the name that the Lord gave to Jacob (meaning “cheater” or “deceiver”), the famous ancestor of the Jewish people.
- 1.51 going up and coming down on the Son of Man: When Jacob (see the note at 1.47) was running from his brother Esau, he had a dream in which he saw angels going up and down on a ladder from earth to heaven (see Genesis 28.10-22).
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