John 1
English Standard Version
The Word Became Flesh
1 (A)In the beginning was (B)the Word, and (C)the Word was with God, and (D)the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 (E)All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 (F)In him was life,[a] and (G)the life was the light of men. 5 (H)The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man (I)sent from God, whose name was (J)John. 7 He came as a (K)witness, to bear witness about the light, (L)that all might believe through him. 8 (M)He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 (N)The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet (O)the world did not know him. 11 He came to (P)his own,[b] and (Q)his own people[c] (R)did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, (S)who believed in his name, (T)he gave the right (U)to become (V)children of God, 13 who (W)were born, (X)not of blood (Y)nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And (Z)the Word (AA)became flesh and (AB)dwelt among us, (AC)and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[d] from the Father, full of (AD)grace and (AE)truth. 15 ((AF)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, (AG)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from (AH)his fullness we have all received, (AI)grace upon grace.[e] 17 For (AJ)the law was given through Moses; (AK)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (AL)No one has ever seen God; (AM)the only God,[f] who is at the Father's side,[g] (AN)he has made him known.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the (AO)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, (AP)“Who are you?” 20 (AQ)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? (AR)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you (AS)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (AT)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight[h] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, (AU)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, (AV)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even (AW)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Behold, the Lamb of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, (AX)the Lamb of God, who (AY)takes away the sin (AZ)of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, (BA)‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but (BB)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John (BC)bore witness: (BD)“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and (BE)it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but (BF)he who sent me to baptize (BG)with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, (BH)this is he who baptizes (BI)with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son[i] of God.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, (BJ)the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, (BK)“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, (BL)“Rabbi” (which 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, for it was about the tenth hour.[j] 40 (BM)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[k] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found (BN)the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of (BO)John. You shall be called (BP)Cephas” (which means (BQ)Peter[l]).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 (BR)The next day Jesus decided (BS)to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now (BT)Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found (BU)Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom (BV)Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus (BW)of Nazareth, (BX)the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, (BY)“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, (BZ)an Israelite indeed, (CA)in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How (CB)do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, (CC)“Rabbi, (CD)you are the Son of God! You are the (CE)King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered 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, “Truly, truly, I say to you,[m] you will see (CF)heaven opened, and (CG)the angels of God ascending and descending on (CH)the Son of Man.”
Footnotes
- John 1:4 Or was not any thing made. That which has been made was life in him
- John 1:11 Greek to his own things; that is, to his own domain, or to his own people
- John 1:11 People is implied in Greek
- John 1:14 Or only One, or unique One
- John 1:16 Or grace in place of grace
- John 1:18 Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son
- John 1:18 Greek in the bosom of the Father
- John 1:23 Or crying out, ‘In the wilderness make straight
- John 1:34 Some manuscripts the Chosen One
- John 1:39 That is, about 4 p.m.
- John 1:40 Greek him
- John 1:42 Cephas and Peter are from the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek, respectively
- John 1:51 The Greek for you is plural; twice in this verse
John 1
International Standard Version
The Word and Creation
1 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life brought light to humanity.[a] 5 And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.[b]
John’s Witness to the Word
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe because of him. 8 John[c] was not the light, but he came[d] to testify about the light. 9 This[e] was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world.[f] 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not recognize him.
Responses to the Word
11 He came to his own creation,[g] yet his own people did not receive him. 12 However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God’s children, 13 who were born, not merely in a genetic sense,[h] nor from lust,[i] nor from man’s desire, but from the will of[j] God.
The Word Becomes Human
14 The Word became flesh and lived[k] among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s uniquely existing Son,[l] who is full of grace and truth. 15 John told the truth about him when he cried out, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks higher than me, because he existed before me.’” 16 We have all received one gracious gift after another from his abundance,[m] 17 because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah.[n] 18 No one has ever seen God. The uniquely existing God,[o] who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.
The Testimony of John the Baptist(A)
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[p] sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself,[q] admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”[r]
21 So they asked him, “Well then, are you Elijah?”
John[s] said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 “Who are you?” they asked him. “We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He replied, “I am
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those men[v] had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah,[w] or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, “I am baptizing with[x] water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This happened in Bethany[y] on the other side[z] of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day, John[aa] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.’ 31 I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with[ab] water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 John also testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with[ac] water told me, ‘The person on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes with[ad] the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son[ae] of God.”
The First Disciples
35 The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples. 36 As he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
38 But when Jesus turned around and saw them following, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They asked him, “Rabbi,” (which is translated “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 He told them, “Come and see!” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.[af]
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.[ag] 41 The first thing Andrew[ah] did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Anointed One!”[ai] (which is translated “Messiah”).[aj]
42 He led Simon[ak] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him intently and said, “You are Simon, John’s son.[al] You will be called Cephas!”[am] (which is translated “Peter”).[an]
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathaniel
43 The next day, Jesus decided to go away to Galilee, where he found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the man about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote—Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
46 Nathaniel asked him, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?”
Philip told him, “Come and see!”
47 Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said about him, “Look, a genuine Israeli, in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathaniel asked him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathaniel replied to him, “Rabbi,[ao] you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus told him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.” 51 Then he told him, “Truly, I tell all of you[ap] emphatically, you will see heaven standing open and the angels of God going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”
Footnotes
- John 1:4 Lit. was the light of people
- John 1:5 Or understood it
- John 1:8 Lit. He
- John 1:8 The Gk. lacks he came
- John 1:9 Lit. He
- John 1:9 Or every person who is coming into the world
- John 1:11 Or possessions
- John 1:13 Lit. not of bloods
- John 1:13 Lit. from desire of the flesh
- John 1:13 The Gk. lacks the will of
- John 1:14 Lit. pitched his tent
- John 1:14 The Gk. lacks Son
- John 1:16 Lit. received grace for grace
- John 1:17 Or Christ
- John 1:18 Other mss. read Son
- John 1:19 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 1:20 Lit. and did not deny
- John 1:20 Or Christ
- John 1:21 Lit. He
- John 1:23 MT source citation reads Lord’s
- John 1:23 Cf. Isa 40:3
- John 1:24 Lit. Now they
- John 1:25 Or Christ
- John 1:26 Or in
- John 1:28 Other mss. read Bethabara
- John 1:28 I.e. the east side
- John 1:29 Lit. he
- John 1:31 Or in
- John 1:33 Or in
- John 1:33 Or in
- John 1:34 Other mss. read Chosen One
- John 1:39 Lit. the tenth hour
- John 1:40 Lit. him
- John 1:41 Lit. He
- John 1:41 The Gk. word messias is a transliteration of the Heb. word for Messiah
- John 1:41 Or Christ
- John 1:42 Lit. him
- John 1:42 Cf. Matthew 16:17
- John 1:42 Cephas means rock in Aram.
- John 1:42 Peter means rock in Gk.
- John 1:49 Rabbi is Heb. for Master and/or Teacher
- John 1:51 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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