El Verbo se hizo hombre

En el principio ya existía el Verbo,
    y el Verbo estaba con Dios,
    y el Verbo era Dios.
Él estaba con Dios en el principio.
Por medio de él todas las cosas fueron creadas;
    sin él, nada de lo creado llegó a existir.
En él estaba la vida
    y la vida era la luz de la humanidad.
Esta luz resplandece en la oscuridad
    y la oscuridad no ha podido apagarla.[a]

Vino un hombre llamado Juan. Dios lo envió como testigo para dar testimonio de la luz, a fin de que por medio de él todos creyeran. Juan no era la luz, sino que vino para dar testimonio de la luz. Esa luz verdadera, la que alumbra a todo ser humano, venía a este mundo.[b]

10 El que era la luz ya estaba en el mundo y el mundo fue creado por medio de él, pero el mundo no lo reconoció. 11 Vino a lo que era suyo, pero los suyos no lo recibieron. 12 Mas a cuantos lo recibieron, a los que creen en su nombre, les dio el derecho de ser hechos hijos de Dios. 13 Estos no nacen de la sangre, ni por deseos naturales, ni por voluntad humana, sino que nacen de Dios.

14 Y el Verbo se hizo hombre y habitó[c] entre nosotros. Y contemplamos su gloria, la gloria que corresponde al Hijo único del Padre, lleno de gracia y de verdad.

15 Juan dio testimonio de él y a voz en cuello proclamó: «Este es aquel de quien yo decía: “El que viene después de mí es superior a mí, porque existía antes que yo”». 16 De su plenitud todos recibimos gracia sobre gracia, 17 pues la Ley fue dada por medio de Moisés, mientras que la gracia y la verdad nos han llegado por medio de Jesucristo. 18 A Dios nadie lo ha visto nunca; el Hijo único, que es Dios[d] y que vive en unión íntima con el Padre, nos lo ha dado a conocer.

Juan el Bautista niega ser el Cristo

19 Este es el testimonio de Juan cuando los judíos de Jerusalén enviaron sacerdotes y levitas a preguntarle quién era. 20 No se negó a declararlo, sino que confesó con franqueza:

—Yo no soy el Cristo.

21 —¿Quién eres entonces? —le preguntaron—. ¿Acaso eres Elías?

—No lo soy.

—¿Eres el profeta?

—No lo soy.

22 —Entonces, ¿quién eres? Tenemos que llevar una respuesta a los que nos enviaron. ¿Qué dices de ti mismo?

23 Juan respondió con las palabras del profeta Isaías:

—“Yo soy la voz de uno que grita en el desierto: ‘Enderecen el camino para el Señor’ ”.[e]

24 Los que habían sido enviados eran de los fariseos. 25 Ellos preguntaron:

—Pues, si no eres el Cristo ni Elías ni el profeta, ¿por qué bautizas?

26 Juan respondió:

—Yo bautizo con[f] agua, pero entre ustedes hay alguien a quien no conocen 27 y que viene después de mí, al cual yo no soy digno ni siquiera de desatarle la correa de las sandalias.

28 Todo esto sucedió en Betania, al otro lado del río Jordán, donde Juan estaba bautizando.

Jesús, el Cordero de Dios

29 Al día siguiente, Juan vio a Jesús que se acercaba a él y dijo: «¡Aquí tienen al Cordero de Dios, que quita el pecado del mundo! 30 De este hablaba yo cuando dije: “Después de mí viene un hombre que es superior a mí, porque existía antes que yo”. 31 Yo ni siquiera lo conocía, pero para que él se revelara al pueblo de Israel, vine bautizando con agua».

32 Juan declaró: «Vi al Espíritu descender del cielo como una paloma y permanecer sobre él. 33 Yo mismo no lo conocía, pero el que me envió a bautizar con agua me dijo: “Aquel sobre quien veas que el Espíritu desciende y permanece es el que bautiza con el Espíritu Santo”. 34 Yo lo he visto y por eso testifico que este es el Hijo de Dios».

Los primeros discípulos de Jesús(A)

35 Al día siguiente, Juan estaba de nuevo allí con dos de sus discípulos. 36 Al ver a Jesús que pasaba por ahí, dijo:

—¡Aquí tienen al Cordero de Dios!

37 Cuando los dos discípulos lo oyeron decir esto, siguieron a Jesús. 38 Jesús se volvió y al ver que lo seguían, les preguntó:

—¿Qué buscan?

—Rabí, ¿dónde te hospedas? (Rabí significa “Maestro”.)

39 —Vengan a ver —contestó Jesús.

Ellos fueron, pues, y vieron dónde se hospedaba. Ese mismo día se quedaron con él. Eran como las cuatro de la tarde.

40 Andrés, hermano de Simón Pedro, era uno de los dos que, al oír a Juan, había seguido a Jesús. 41 Andrés encontró primero a su hermano Simón y le dijo:

—Hemos encontrado al Mesías —es decir, el Cristo.

42 Luego lo llevó a Jesús, quien lo miró y dijo:

—Tú eres Simón, hijo de Juan. Serás llamado Cefas —es decir, Pedro.[g]

Jesús llama a Felipe y a Natanael

43 Al día siguiente, Jesús decidió salir hacia Galilea. Se encontró con Felipe y lo llamó:

«Sígueme».

44 Felipe era del pueblo de Betsaida, lo mismo que Andrés y Pedro. 45 Felipe buscó a Natanael y le dijo:

—Hemos encontrado a Jesús de Nazaret, el hijo de José, aquel de quien escribió Moisés en la Ley y de quien escribieron los profetas.

46 —¡De Nazaret! —respondió Natanael—. ¿Acaso de allí puede salir algo bueno?

—Ven a ver —contestó Felipe.

47 Cuando Jesús vio que Natanael se acercaba, comentó:

—Aquí tienen a un verdadero israelita en quien no hay falsedad.

48 —¿De dónde me conoces? —preguntó Natanael.

Jesús respondió:

—Antes de que Felipe te llamara, cuando aún estabas bajo la higuera, ya te había visto.

49 —Rabí, ¡tú eres el Hijo de Dios! ¡Tú eres el Rey de Israel! —declaró Natanael.

50 Jesús le dijo:

—¿Lo crees porque te dije que te vi cuando estabas debajo de la higuera? ¡Vas a ver aún cosas más grandes que estas!

51 Y añadió con firmeza:

—Les aseguro que ustedes verán abrirse el cielo, y a los ángeles de Dios subir y bajar sobre el Hijo del hombre.

Footnotes

  1. 1:5 apagarla. Alt. comprenderla.
  2. 1:9 Esa … mundo. Alt. Esa era la luz verdadera que alumbra a todo ser humano que viene al mundo.
  3. 1:14 habitó. Lit. puso su tienda.
  4. 1:18 el Hijo único, que es Dios. Lit. Dios único. Var. el Hijo unigénito.
  5. 1:23 Is 40:3.
  6. 1:26 con. Alt. en; también en vv. 31 y 33.
  7. 1:42 Tanto Cefas (arameo) como Pedro (griego) significan piedra.

The Eternal Word(A)

In the beginning (B)was the Word, and the (C)Word was (D)with God, and the Word was (E)God. (F)He was in the beginning with God. (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (H)In Him was life, and (I)the life was the light of men. And (J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.

John’s Witness: The True Light

There was a (K)man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a (L)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might (M)believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that (N)Light. (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

  1. John 1:5 Or overcome
  2. John 1:9 Or That was the true Light which, coming into the world, gives light to every man.
  3. John 1:11 His own things or domain
  4. John 1:11 His own people
  5. John 1:12 authority
  6. John 1:15 ranks higher than I
  7. John 1:16 NU For
  8. John 1:18 NU God
  9. John 1:27 ranks higher than I
  10. John 1:28 NU, M Bethany
  11. John 1:30 ranks higher than I
  12. John 1:41 Lit. Anointed One
  13. John 1:42 NU John
  14. John 1:42 Gr. Petros, usually translated Peter
  15. John 1:51 NU omits hereafter

The Word of Life

In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. The Word was the source of life,[a] and this life brought light to people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

(A)God sent his messenger, a man named John, who came to tell people about the light, so that all should hear the message and believe. He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.

10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. 12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. 13 They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.

14 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.

15 John spoke about him. He cried out, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.’”

16 Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. 17 God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

John the Baptist's Message(B)

19 The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 John did not refuse to answer, but spoke out openly and clearly, saying: “I am not the Messiah.”

21 (C)“Who are you, then?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No, I am not,” John answered.

“Are you the Prophet?”[b] they asked.

“No,” he replied.

22 “Then tell us who you are,” they said. “We have to take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 (D)John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah:

“I am ‘the voice of someone shouting in the desert:
    Make a straight path for the Lord to travel!’”

24 The messengers, who had been sent by the Pharisees, 25 then[c] asked John, “If you are not the Messiah nor Elijah nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”

26 John answered, “I baptize with water, but among you stands the one you do not know. 27 He is coming after me, but I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.”

28 All this happened in Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.’ 31 I did not know who he would be, but I came baptizing with water in order to make him known to the people of Israel.”

32 And John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I still did not know that he was the one, but God, who sent me to baptize with water, had said to me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and stay on a man; he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen it,” said John, “and I tell you that he is the Son of God.”

The First Disciples of Jesus

35 The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples, 36 when he saw Jesus walking by. “There is the Lamb of God!” he said.

37 The two disciples heard him say this and went with Jesus. 38 Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, “What are you looking for?”

They answered, “Where do you live, Rabbi?” (This word means “Teacher.”)

39 “Come and see,” he answered. (It was then about four o'clock in the afternoon.) So they went with him and saw where he lived, and spent the rest of that day with him.

40 One of them was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 At once he found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” (This word means “Christ.”) 42 Then he took Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “Your name is Simon son of John, but you will be called Cephas.” (This is the same as Peter and means “a rock.”)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come with me!” (44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter lived.) 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

46 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” answered Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, “Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!”

48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 “Teacher,” answered Nathanael, “you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus said, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than this!” 51 (E)And he said to them, “I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

Footnotes

  1. John 1:4 The Word was the source of life; or What was made had life in union with the Word.
  2. John 1:21 The one who was expected to appear and announce the coming of the Messiah.
  3. John 1:25 The messengers, who had been sent by the Pharisees, then; or Those who had been sent were Pharisees; they.