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 aThe Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not 1comprehend it.

The Witness John

6 There 1came a man sent from God, whose name was aJohn.

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

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

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

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

11 He came to 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 Made Flesh

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

15 John * atestified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘bHe who comes after me 1has a higher rank than I, cfor He existed before me.’ ”

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

17 For athe Law was given through Moses; bgrace and ctruth 1were realized 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.

The Testimony of John

19 This is athe testimony of John, when bthe Jews 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 1the Christ.”

21 They asked him, “What then? Are you aElijah?” And he * said, “I am not.” “Are you bthe 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 aa 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 1Christ, nor Elijah, nor athe Prophet?”

26 John answered them saying, “aI baptize 1in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.

27 “It is aHe who comes after me, the bthong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

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

29 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 on behalf of whom I said, ‘aAfter me comes a Man who 1has a higher rank than I, bfor He existed before me.’

31 “I did not recognize 1Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing 2in water.”

32 John atestified saying, “bI have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.

33 “I did not recognize 1Him, but He who sent me to baptize 2in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, athis is the One who baptizes 2in the Holy Spirit.’

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

Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts

35 Again athe next day John was standing 1with two of his disciples,

36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and * said, “Behold, athe 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, “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, for 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 * found first his own brother Simon and * said to him, “We have found the aMessiah” (which translated means 1Christ).

42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of 1aJohn; you shall be called bCephas” (which is translated 2cPeter).

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

44 Now aPhilip was from bBethsaida, of 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 cthe Prophets wrote—Jesus of dNazareth, ethe son of Joseph.”

46 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 of him, “Behold, an aIsraelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

48 Nathanael * said to Him, “How 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.”