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The Word Becomes Flesh

In the beginning was the Word.[a] The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made through Him, and apart from Him nothing was made that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that through him everyone might believe. He was not the light, but he came to bear witness concerning the light. The true light, coming into the world, gives light to every man.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him; but the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12 But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God. 13 They were born not of a bloodline, nor of human desire, nor of man’s will, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory,[b] the glory of the one and only[c] from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John testifies about Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘The One who comes after me is above me, because He existed before me.’” 16 Out of His fullness, we have all received grace on top of grace. 17 Torah was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah. 18 No one has ever seen God; but the one and only God,[d] in the Father’s embrace, has made Him known.

John’s Witness to Israel’s Leaders

19 This is John’s testimony, when the Judean leaders sent kohanim and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 He openly admitted and did not deny; he admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 “What then? Are you Elijah?” they asked him.

“I am not,” said John.

“Are you the Prophet?”

“No,” he answered.

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

23 He said, “I am ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of Adonai,”’[e] as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Now those sent were from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “If you’re not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet, why then are you immersing?”

26 “I immerse in water,” John answered. “Among you stands One you do not know, 27 coming after me, whose sandals I’m not worthy to untie.” 28 These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was immersing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day, John sees Yeshua coming to him and says, “Behold, the Lamb[f] of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the One about whom I told you, ‘He who comes after me is above me, because He was before me.’ 31 I didn’t know Him, but I came immersing with water so that He might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John testified, “I have seen the Ruach coming down like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on Him. 33 I did not know Him; but the One who sent me to immerse in water said to me, ‘The One on whom you see the Ruach coming down and remaining, this is the One who immerses in the Ruach ha-Kodesh.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is Ben-Elohim.”[g]

Yeshua’s First Disciples

35 Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples 36 and watched Yeshua walking by. He said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Yeshua.

38 Yeshua turned around and saw them following. He said to them, “What are you looking for?”

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come and see,” Yeshua tells them. So they came and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.[h]

40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John speak and followed Yeshua. 41 First he finds his own brother Simon and tells him, “We’ve found the Messiah!” (which is translated Anointed One).

42 Andrew brought Simon to Yeshua. Yeshua looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You shall be called Kefa (which is translated Peter).”

Disciples Offer Witness

43 The next day, Yeshua decided to go to the Galilee. He finds Philip and says to him, “Follow Me!” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip finds Nathanael and tells him, “We’ve found the One that Moses in the Torah, and also the prophets, wrote about—Yeshua of Natzeret, the son of Joseph!”

46 Natzeret!” Nathanael answered. “Can anything good come from there?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

47 Yeshua saw Nathanael coming toward Him. He said, “Look, a true Israelite! There’s nothing false in him.”

48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do you know me?”

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

49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are Ben-Elohim! You are the King of Israel!”[i]

50 “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, you believe?” Yeshua replied to him. “You will see greater things than that!” 51 And He said, “Amen, amen I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man!”[j]

Footnotes

  1. John 1:1 cf. Gen. 1:1; Prov. 8:23.
  2. John 1:14 cf. Exod. 40:34.
  3. John 1:14 Lit. unique, sometimes translated only begotten.
  4. John 1:18 Some mss. say the only Son.
  5. John 1:23 Is. 40:3.
  6. John 1:29 cf. Exod. 12:21; Num. 28:8; Isa. 53:5-7.
  7. John 1:34 cf. Ps. 2:7; Prov. 30:4.
  8. John 1:39 4 p.m.
  9. John 1:49 cf. Ps. 2:6-7.
  10. John 1:51 cf. Gen. 28:12-13; Dan. 7:13.

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