John 1
New King James Version
The Eternal Word(A)
1 In the beginning (B)was the Word, and the (C)Word was (D)with God, and the Word was (E)God. 2 (F)He was in the beginning with God. 3 (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 (H)In Him was life, and (I)the life was the light of men. 5 And (J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6 There was a (K)man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a (L)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might (M)believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that (N)Light. 9 (O)That[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and (P)the world did not know Him. 11 (Q)He came to His [c]own, and His [d]own did not receive Him. 12 But (R)as many as received Him, to them He gave the [e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 (S)who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 (T)And the Word (U)became (V)flesh and dwelt among us, and (W)we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, (X)full of grace and truth.
15 (Y)John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, (Z)‘He who comes after me [f]is preferred before me, (AA)for He was before me.’ ”
16 [g]And of His (AB)fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For (AC)the law was given through Moses, but (AD)grace and (AE)truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (AF)No one has seen God at any time. (AG)The only begotten [h]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
A Voice in the Wilderness(AH)
19 Now this is (AI)the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 (AJ)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you (AK)the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: (AL)“I am
(AM)‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, (AN)“I baptize with water, (AO)but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 (AP)It is He who, coming after me, [i]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done (AQ)in [j]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God(AR)
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! (AS)The Lamb of God (AT)who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who [k]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, (AU)therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 (AV)And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, (AW)this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the (AX)Son of God.”
The First Disciples
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, (AY)“Behold the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they (AZ)followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was (BA)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the [l]Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of [m]Jonah. (BB)You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, [n]A Stone).
Philip and Nathanael
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found (BC)Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now (BD)Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found (BE)Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom (BF)Moses in the law, and also the (BG)prophets, wrote—Jesus (BH)of Nazareth, the (BI)son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, (BJ)“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, (BK)an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, (BL)You are the Son of God! You are (BM)the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (BN)hereafter[o] you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Footnotes
- John 1:5 Or overcome
- John 1:9 Or That was the true Light which, coming into the world, gives light to every man.
- John 1:11 His own things or domain
- John 1:11 His own people
- John 1:12 authority
- John 1:15 ranks higher than I
- John 1:16 NU For
- John 1:18 NU God
- John 1:27 ranks higher than I
- John 1:28 NU, M Bethany
- John 1:30 ranks higher than I
- John 1:41 Lit. Anointed One
- John 1:42 NU John
- John 1:42 Gr. Petros, usually translated Peter
- John 1:51 NU omits hereafter
John 1
New Life Version
Christ Lived Before the World Was Made
1 The Word (Christ) was in the beginning. The Word was with God. The Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 He made all things. Nothing was made without Him making it. 4 Life began by Him. His Life was the Light for men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness. The darkness has never been able to put out the Light.
John the Baptist Tells of the Coming of Christ
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came to tell what he knew about the Light so that all men might believe through him. 8 John was not the Light, but he was sent to tell about the Light.
9 This true Light, coming into the world, gives light to every man. 10 He came into the world. The world was made by Him, but it did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12 He gave the right and the power to become children of God to those who received Him. He gave this to those who put their trust in His name. 13 These children of God were not born of blood and of flesh and of man’s desires, but they were born of God. 14 Christ became human flesh and lived among us. We saw His shining-greatness. This greatness is given only to a much-loved Son from His Father. He was full of loving-favor and truth.
John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for Jesus Christ (A)
15 John told about Christ and said, “I have been telling you about this One. I said, ‘He is coming after me. He is more important than I because He lived before me.’” 16 From Him Who has so much we have all received loving-favor, one loving-favor after another. 17 The Law was given through Moses, but loving-favor and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 The much-loved Son is beside the Father. No man has ever seen God. But Christ has made God known to us.
19 The Jews sent their religious leaders and men from the family group of Levi to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He told them without holding back any words, “I am not the Christ!” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not!” Then they asked, “Are you the special One Who was to come to speak for God?” John said, “No.” 22 Then they asked him, “Who are you? We must tell those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John said, “I am the voice of one crying in the desert. ‘Make the road straight for the Lord,’ as the early preacher Isaiah said.” (B)
24 Those who had been sent were from the proud religious law-keepers. 25 They asked John again, “Then why do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or that special One Who was to come to speak for God?” 26 John answered, “I baptize with water. But there is One standing among you Whom you do not know. 27 He is the One Who is coming after me. I am not good enough to get down and help Him take off His shoes.” 28 All this happened when John was baptizing in the town of Bethany. He was on the other side of the Jordan River.
The Baptism of Jesus (C)
29 The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him. He said, “See! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! 30 I have been talking about Him. I said, ‘One is coming after me Who is more important than I, because He lived before I was born.’ 31 I did not know who He was, but I have come to baptize with water so the Jews might know about Him.”
32 Then John said, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down on Jesus as a dove from heaven. The Holy Spirit stayed on Him. 33 I did not know Him then. But God sent me to baptize with water. God said to me, ‘The Holy Spirit will come down and stay on Him. He is the One Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen. I am now saying that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Jesus Calls Andrew and Peter
35 The next day John the Baptist was standing with two of his own followers. 36 Jesus walked by. John looked at Him and said, “See! The Lamb of God.” 37 John’s two followers heard him say this and followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned around and saw them following. He said to them, “What are you looking for?” They answered, “Teacher, where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They followed Him and saw where He lived. They stayed with Him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who had heard John’s words and had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing he did was to find his brother Simon. He said to him, “We have found the Christ!” 42 Andrew took Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw Simon, He said, “You are Simon, the son of John. Your name will be Cephas.” The name Cephas means Peter, or a rock.
Jesus Calls Philip And Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus wanted to go to the country of Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. Andrew and Peter were from this town also. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law. He is the One the early preachers wrote about. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said, “Can anything good come out of the town of Nazareth?” Philip said, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said, “See! There is a true Jew. There is nothing false in him.” 48 Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip talked to you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49 Nathanael said to Him, “Teacher, You are the Son of God. You are the King of the Jews.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that. 51 For sure, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and God’s angels going up and coming and down on the Son of Man.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.