John 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.(A) 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being(B) 4 in him was life,[a] and the life was the light of all people.(C) 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.[b](D)
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him.(E) 11 He came to what was his own,[c] and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,(F) 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.(G)
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,[d] full of grace and truth.(H) 15 (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[e](I) 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.(J) 18 No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who[f] is close to the Father’s heart,[g] who has made him known.(K)
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”[h](L) 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”(M) 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ”
as the prophet Isaiah said.(N)
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah,[i] nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!(O) 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.(P) 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’(Q) 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”[j]
The First Disciples of Jesus
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”(R) 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”(S) 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.(T) 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed[k]).(U) 42 He brought Simon[l] to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas”[m] (which is translated Peter[n]).(V)
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”(W) 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.(X) 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”(Y) 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”(Z) 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”(AA) 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”(AB) 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you,[o] you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”(AC)
Footnotes
- 1.4 Or
. . . through him. And without him not one thing came into being that has come into being. In him was life - 1.9 Or He was the true light that enlightens everyone coming into the world
- 1.11 Or to his own home
- 1.14 Or the Father’s only Son
- 1.16 Or grace in place of grace
- 1.18 Other ancient authorities read is the only Son who
- 1.18 Gk bosom
- 1.20 Or the Christ
- 1.25 Or the Christ
- 1.34 Other ancient authorities read the Son of God
- 1.41 Or Christ
- 1.42 Gk him
- 1.42 Aramaic for rock
- 1.42 Greek for rock
- 1.51 Both instances of you in 1.51 are plural in Greek
John 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
Christ, the Word, Becomes Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made. 4 In him was[a] life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5 The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[b] it.
6 There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as an eyewitness to testify about the light so that everyone would believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
9 The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelled[c] among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about him. He cried out, “This was the one I spoke about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’” 16 For[d] out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son,[e] who is close to the Father’s side, has made him known.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
19 This is the testimony John gave when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites[f] to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed and did not deny. He confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “Who are you then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
“No,” he answered.
22 Then they asked him, “Who are you? Tell us so we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’[g] just as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 They had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 So they asked John, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John answered. “Among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one coming after me,[h] whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
28 These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’ 31 I myself did not know who he was, but I came baptizing with water so that he would be revealed to Israel.”
32 John also testified, “I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from heaven and remain on him. 33 I myself did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this myself and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
The First Disciples
35 The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples. 36 When John saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 When Jesus turned around and saw them following him, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 He told them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying. They stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.[i]
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his own brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated “the Christ”).[j] 42 He brought him to Jesus.
Looking at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon, son of Jonah.[k] You will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).[l]
43 The next day, Jesus wanted to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 Nathanael said to him, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
“Come and see!” Philip told him.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!” 51 Then he added, “Amen, Amen,[m] I tell you:[n] You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Footnotes
- John 1:4 Some witnesses to the text read is. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)
- John 1:5 Or grasped
- John 1:14 Literally tented
- John 1:16 Some witnesses to the text read And.
- John 1:18 Some witnesses to the text read The only-begotten God.
- John 1:19 Some witnesses to the text add to him.
- John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3
- John 1:27 Some witnesses to the text add who existed before me (see 1:30 where this clause is definitely part of the text).
- John 1:39 10 am (Roman civil time) or 4 pm (Jewish time). John seems to use Roman civil time in 19:14 (compare Mark 15:25). John also seems to use Roman civil time in 20:19, because the evening is considered part of the first day of the week. Roman civil time began a new day at midnight. Jewish time regarded sunset as the beginning of a new day.
- John 1:41 Messiah is the Hebrew/Aramaic word for Anointed One. Christ is the Greek word for Anointed One.
- John 1:42 Some witnesses to the text have John.
- John 1:42 Both the Aramaic word Cephas and the Greek word Peter (Petros) are masculine nouns that mean rock.
- John 1:51 Usually people say Amen at the end of a prayer, but Jesus used this Hebrew word at the beginning of a statement, which was unique. The inspired writer simply transliterated the Hebrew word that Jesus spoke, instead of using a Greek term. This translation does the same in English. The basic meaning is I solemnly tell you the truth. Here it is emphasized by being used twice.
- John 1:51 Both uses of you in verse 51 are plural.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.