CHAPTER 1

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 aIn the beginning was bthe Word, and the Word was cwith God, and dthe Word was God.

2 1He was in the beginning with God.

3 aAll things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

4 aIn Him was life, and the life was bthe Light of men.

5 aAnd 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 1aJohn.

7 1He came 2aas a witness, to bear witness about the Light, bso that all might believe through him.

8 1aHe was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.

9 There was athe true Light 1which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.

10 He was in the world, and athe world * was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

11 He came to what was His 1own, 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 achildren of God, even bto those who believe in His name,

13 awho were 1born, not of 2blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Became Flesh

14 And athe Word bbecame flesh, and 1cdwelt among us, and dwe beheld His glory, glory as of the 2only begotten from the Father, full of egrace and ftruth.

15 John *abore witness about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘bHe who comes after me 1has been ahead of me, cfor He existed before me.’”

16 For of His afullness 1we have all received, and grace 2upon grace.

17 For athe Law was given through Moses; bgrace and ctruth came through Jesus Christ.

18 aNo one has seen God at any time; bthe only begotten God who is cin the bosom of the Father, dHe has explained Him.

A Voice in the Wilderness

19 And this is athe witness of John, when bthe 1Jews sent to him priests and Levites cfrom Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “aI am not the 1Christ.”

21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you aElijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you bthe 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 aa voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the 1Lord,’ 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 1Christ, nor Elijah, nor athe Prophet?”

26 John answered them, saying, “aI baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.

27 “This One is aHe who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the bstrap of His sandal.”

28 These things took place in Bethany abeyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 On the next day, he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, athe Lamb of God who btakes away the sin of the world!

30 “This is He of whom I said, ‘aAfter me comes a man who has been 1ahead of me, bfor He existed before me.’

31 “I did not know 1Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water.”

32 And John abore witness saying, “bI have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abided on Him.

33 “And I did not know 1Him, 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, athis is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

34 “And I myself have seen, and have borne witness that this is athe Son of God.”

Behold, the Lamb of God

35 aOn the next day, John again was standing 1with two of his disciples,

36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, athe 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, “aRabbi (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 1tenth hour.

40 aOne 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 aMessiah” (which translated means 1Christ).

42 He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of aJohn; you shall be called bCephas” (which is translated 1cPeter).

43 aOn the next day, He desired to go into bGalilee, and He *found cPhilip. And Jesus *said to him, “dFollow Me.”

44 Now aPhilip was from bBethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 aPhilip *found bNathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom cMoses in the Law and also dthe Prophets wrote—Jesus of eNazareth, fthe son of Joseph.”

46 And Nathanael said to him, “aCan any good thing come out of Nazareth?” bPhilip *said to him, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said about him, “Behold, truly an aIsraelite in whom there is no deceit!”

48 Nathanael *said to Him, “From where do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before aPhilip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

49 Nathanael answered Him, “aRabbi, You are bthe Son of God; You are the cKing 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 athe heavens opened and bthe angels of God ascending and descending on cthe Son of Man.”