John 1:1-5

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.^[a] ²He was in the beginning with God; ³all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. ⁴In him was life,^[b] and the life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness,^[c] and the darkness has not overcome it.

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Footnotes

1.1 John begins by giving his Gospel a theological background. By speaking at once of “the Word” he implies that his readers are familiar with the term. To Gentiles it indicated some form of divine revelation or self-expression. Jews would equate it with the divine Wisdom described in Proverbs, which already appears as something more than a divine quality and has some relationship with the visible world. In Sirach and Wisdom the idea is further developed. In the last-named book, Wisdom appears as a pre-existing person, taking part in the creation of the world and having a mission to reveal God to his creatures; cf. Wis 7.22–8.1.
John 1:4 Or was not anything made. That which has been made was life in him
1.5 light . . . darkness: One of the familiar themes of the Gospel.

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.