John 15
Christian Standard Bible
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am(A) the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes,(B) and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean(C) because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.(D) 5 I am the vine; (E) you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit,(F) because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside(G) like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire,(H) and they are burned.(I) 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.(J) 8 My Father is glorified(K) by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be[a] my disciples.
Christlike Love
9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love.(L) 10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.(M)
11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.(N)
12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved(O) you. 13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life(P) for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master[b](Q) is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you.(R) I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask(S) the Father in my name,(T) he will give you.(U)
17 “This is what I command you: Love one another.
Persecutions Predicted
18 “If the world hates(V) you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen(W) you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’(X) If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word,(Y) they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name,(Z) because they don’t know(AA) the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.(AB) Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father.(AC) 24 If I had not done the works(AD) among them that no one else has done,(AE) they would not be guilty of sin.(AF) Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled:(AG) They hated me for no reason.[c](AH)
The Counselor’s Ministry
26 “When the Counselor(AI) comes, the one I will send to you from the Father(AJ) —the Spirit of truth(AK) who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify,(AL) because you have been with me from the beginning.
John 15
Complete Jewish Bible
15 “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch which is part of me but fails to bear fruit, he cuts off; and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. 3 Right now, because of the word which I have spoken to you, you are pruned. 4 Stay united with me, as I will with you — for just as the branch can’t put forth fruit by itself apart from the vine, so you can’t bear fruit apart from me.
5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.
7 “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8 This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.
9 “Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love. 11 I have said this to you so that my joy may be in you, and your joy be complete.
12 “This is my command: that you keep on loving each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask from the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This is what I command you: keep loving each other!
18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you do not belong to the world — on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world — therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours too. 21 But they will do all this to you on my account, because they don’t know the One who sent me.
22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they wouldn’t be guilty of sin; but now, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done in their presence works which no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now, they have seen them and have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this has happened in order to fulfill the words in their Torah which read, ‘They hated me for no reason at all.’[a]
26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send you from the Father — the Spirit of Truth, who keeps going out from the Father — he will testify on my behalf. 27 And you testify too, because you have been with me from the outset.
Footnotes
- John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:5(4)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.