¹⁵ John *^(A)testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘^(B)He who is coming after me has proved to be ^[a]my superior, ^(C)because He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His ^(D)fullness ^[b]we have all received, and ^[c]grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For ^(E)the Law was given through Moses; ^(F)grace and ^(G)truth ^[d]were realized through Jesus Christ. ^18 (H)No one has seen God at any time; ^(I)God the only Son, who is ^(J)in the ^[e]arms of the Father, ^(K)He has ^[f]explained Him.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹ This is ^(L)the testimony of John, when ^(M)the Jews sent priests and Levites to him ^(N)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny; and this is what he confessed: “^(O)I am not the ^[g]Christ.” ²¹ And so they asked him, “What then? Are you ^(P)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(Q)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am ^(R)the voice of one calling ^[h]out in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ And the messengers had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ^[i]Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^(S)the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, saying, “^(T)I baptize ^[j]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is ^(U)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the ^(V)strap of His sandal.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany ^(W)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people.

²⁹ The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, ^(X)the Lamb of God who ^(Y)takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘^(Z)After me is coming a Man who has proved to be ^[k]my superior, ^(AA)because He existed before me.’ ³¹ And I did not recognize ^[l]Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing ^[m]in water.” ³² And John ^(AB)testified, saying, “^(AC)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ And I did not recognize ^[n]Him, but He who sent me to baptize ^[o]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, ^(AD)this is the One who baptizes ^[p]in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is ^(AE)the ^[q]Son of God.”

Jesus’ Public Ministry; First Converts

³⁵ Again ^(AF)the next day John was standing ^[r]with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, ^(AG)the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What are you seeking?” They said to Him, “^(AH)Rabbi (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 ^[s]tenth hour. ^40 (AI)One 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 ^(AJ)Messiah” (which translated means ^[t]Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ^[u](AK)John; you shall be called ^(AL)Cephas” (which is translated ^[v](AM)Peter).

^43 (AN)The next day He ^[w]decided to go to ^(AO)Galilee, and He *found ^(AP)Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “^(AQ)Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now ^(AR)Philip was from ^(AS)Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ^45 (AT)Philip *found ^(AU)Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom ^(AV)Moses wrote in the Law, and ^(AW)the prophets also wrote: Jesus ^(AX)the son of Joseph, from ^(AY)Nazareth!” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “^(AZ)Can anything good be from Nazareth?” ^(BA)Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Here is truly an ^(BB)Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before ^(BC)Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered Him, “^(BD)Rabbi, You are ^(BE)the Son of God; You are the ^(BF)King 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 ^(BG)heaven opened and ^(BH)the angels of God ascending and descending on ^(BI)the Son of Man.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷ As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into ^(A)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^8 [a]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[b]palaces!

⁷ “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? ⁸ On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘^(A)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly ^[a]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and ^[b]afterward you ^[c]may eat and drink’? ⁹ He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? ¹⁰ So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are ^[d]unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”