John 1:1-14

Contemporary English Version

³ And with this Word,
    God created all things.
Nothing was made
    without the Word.
Everything that was created
⁴     received its life from him,
and his life gave light
    to everyone.
⁵ The light keeps shining
    in the dark,
and darkness has never
    put it out.^[a]
6 (A) God sent a man named John,
⁷ who came to tell
    about the light
and to lead all people
    to have faith.
⁸ John wasn't this light.
He came only to tell
    about the light.

⁹ The true light that shines
on everyone
    was coming into the world.
¹⁰ The Word was in the world,
    but no one knew him,
though God had made the world
    with his Word.
¹¹ He came into his own world,
but his own nation
    did not welcome him.
¹² Yet some people accepted him
    and put their faith in him.
So he gave them the right
    to be the children of God.
¹³ They were not God's children
by nature or because
    of any human desires.
God himself was the one
    who made them his children.

¹⁴ The Word became
a human being
    and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory,
the glory of the only Son
    of the Father.
From him the complete gifts
of undeserved grace and truth
    have come down to us.