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
John 1
New Living Translation
Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.[b]
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,[c] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became human[d] and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[e] And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”
16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.[f] 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,[g] is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants[h] from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”[i]
“No.”
22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”[j]
24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”
26 John told them, “I baptize with[k] water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”
28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
Jesus, the Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.[l]”
The First Disciples
35 The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”[m]).
42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”[n]).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses[o] and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.[p]”
Footnotes
- 1:3-4 Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
- 1:5 Or and the darkness has not understood it.
- 1:6 Greek a man named John.
- 1:14a Greek became flesh.
- 1:14b Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.
- 1:16 Or received the grace of Christ rather than the grace of the law; Greek reads received grace upon grace.
- 1:18 Some manuscripts read But the one and only Son.
- 1:19 Greek and Levites.
- 1:21 Greek Are you the Prophet? See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
- 1:23 Isa 40:3.
- 1:26 Or in; also in 1:31, 33.
- 1:34 Some manuscripts read the Son of God.
- 1:41 Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “anointed one.”
- 1:42 The names Cephas (from Aramaic) and Peter (from Greek) both mean “rock.”
- 1:45 Greek Moses in the law.
- 1:51 Greek going up and down on the Son of Man; see Gen 28:10-17. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
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