The Deity of Jesus Christ

(A)In the beginning was (B)the Word, and the Word was (C)with God, and (D)the Word was God. [a]He was in the beginning with God. (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (F)In Him was life, and the life was (G)the Light of men. (H)The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [b]comprehend it.

The Witness John

There [c]came a man sent from God, whose name was (I)John. [d]He came [e](J)as a witness, to testify about the Light, (K)so that all might believe through him. [f](L)He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

There was (M)the true Light [g]which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and (N)the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to 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 Made Flesh

14 And (R)the Word (S)became flesh, and [k](T)dwelt among us, and (U)we saw His glory, glory as of [l]the only begotten from the Father, full of (V)grace and (W)truth. 15 John *(X)testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘(Y)He who comes after me [m]has a higher rank than I, (Z)for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His (AA)fullness [n]we have all received, and [o]grace upon grace. 17 For (AB)the Law was given through Moses; (AC)grace and (AD)truth [p]were realized 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.

The Testimony of John

19 This is (AI)the testimony of John, when (AJ)the 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 [q]the Christ.” 21 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 Then 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 Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the [r]Christ, nor Elijah, nor (AP)the Prophet?” 26 John answered them saying, “(AQ)I baptize [s]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 It is (AR)He who comes after me, the (AS)thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany (AT)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 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 on behalf of whom I said, ‘(AW)After me comes a Man who [t]has a higher rank than I, (AX)for He existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize [u]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing [v]in water.” 32 John (AY)testified saying, “(AZ)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize [w]Him, but He who sent me to baptize [x]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, (BA)this is the One who baptizes [y]in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is (BB)the Son of God.”

Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts

35 Again (BC)the next day John was standing [z]with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, (BD)the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *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, for it was about the [aa]tenth hour. 40 (BF)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the (BG)Messiah” (which translated means [ab]Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of [ac](BH)John; you shall be called (BI)Cephas” (which is translated [ad](BJ)Peter).

43 (BK)The next day He purposed 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, of 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 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 of him, “Behold, an (BY)Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How 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

  1. John 1:2 Lit This one
  2. John 1:5 Or overpower
  3. John 1:6 Or came into being
  4. John 1:7 Lit This one
  5. John 1:7 Lit for testimony
  6. John 1:8 Lit That one
  7. John 1:9 Or which enlightens every person coming into the world
  8. John 1:11 Or own things, possessions, domain
  9. John 1:13 Or begotten
  10. John 1:13 Lit bloods
  11. John 1:14 Or tabernacled; i.e. lived temporarily
  12. John 1:14 Or unique, only one of His kind
  13. John 1:15 Lit has become before me
  14. John 1:16 Lit we all received
  15. John 1:16 Lit grace for grace
  16. John 1:17 Lit came to be
  17. John 1:20 I.e. the Messiah
  18. John 1:25 I.e. Messiah
  19. John 1:26 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
  20. John 1:30 Lit has become before me
  21. John 1:31 I.e. as the Messiah
  22. John 1:31 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
  23. John 1:33 I.e. as the Messiah
  24. John 1:33 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
  25. John 1:33 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
  26. John 1:35 Lit and
  27. John 1:39 Perhaps 10 a.m. (Roman time)
  28. John 1:41 Gr Anointed One
  29. John 1:42 Gr Joannes
  30. John 1:42 I.e. Rock or Stone

The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C) He was with God in the beginning.(D) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.(E) In him was life,(F) and that life was the light(G) of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness,(H) and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.(I)

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(J) He came as a witness to testify(K) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.(L) He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light(M) that gives light to everyone(N) was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,(O) the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.(P) 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed(Q) in his name,(R) he gave the right to become children of God(S) 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.(T)

14 The Word became flesh(U) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,(V) the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace(W) and truth.(X)

15 (John testified(Y) concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)(Z) 16 Out of his fullness(AA) we have all received grace(AB) in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses;(AC) grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.(AD) 18 No one has ever seen God,(AE) but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b](AF) is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

19 Now this was John’s(AG) testimony when the Jewish leaders[c](AH) in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”(AI)

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”(AJ)

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”(AK)

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness,(AL) ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d](AM)

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with[e] water,”(AN) John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me,(AO) the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”(AP)

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,(AQ) where John was baptizing.

John Testifies About Jesus

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,(AR) who takes away the sin of the world!(AS) 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’(AT) 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.(AU) 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water(AV) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’(AW) 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[f](AX)

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(AY)

35 The next day John(AZ) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(BA)

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi”(BB) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(BC) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(BD) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[g]).(BE)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(BF) he said to him, “Follow me.”(BG)

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(BH) 45 Philip found Nathanael(BI) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(BJ) and about whom the prophets also wrote(BK)—Jesus of Nazareth,(BL) the son of Joseph.”(BM)

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(BN) Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(BO) in whom there is no deceit.”(BP)

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

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

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(BQ) you are the Son of God;(BR) you are the king of Israel.”(BS)

50 Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open,(BT) and the angels of God ascending and descending(BU) on’[k] the Son of Man.”(BV)

Footnotes

  1. John 1:5 Or understood
  2. John 1:18 Some manuscripts but the only Son, who
  3. John 1:19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19.
  4. John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3
  5. John 1:26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)
  6. John 1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.
  7. John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.
  8. John 1:50 Or Do you believe … ?
  9. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  10. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  11. John 1:51 Gen. 28:12