John 1-3

New American Standard Bible

1 ^(A)In the beginning was ^(B)the Word, and the Word was ^(C)with God, and ^(D)the Word was God. ^2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him ^[b]not even one thing came into being that has come into being. ^4 (F)In Him was life, and the life was ^(G)the Light of mankind. ⁵ And ^(H)the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[c]grasp it.

The Witness John the Baptist

⁶ A man ^[d]came, one sent from God, and his name was ^(I)John. ^7 [e]He came ^[f](J)as a witness, to testify about the Light, ^(K)so that all might believe through him. ^8 [g](L)He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

^9 [h]This was ^(M)the true Light ^[i]that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and ^(N)the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not ^[j]know Him. ¹¹ He came to His ^[k]own, and His own people did not ^[l]accept Him. ¹² But ^[m]as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become ^(O)children of God, ^(P)to those who ^[n]believe in His name, ^13 (Q)who were ^[o]born, not of ^[p]blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.

The Word Made Flesh

¹⁴ And ^(R)the Word ^(S)became flesh, and ^(T)dwelt among us; and ^(U)we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of ^(V)grace and ^(W)truth. ¹⁵ John *^(X)testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘^(Y)He who is coming after me has proved to be ^[q]my superior, ^(Z)because He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His ^(AA)fullness ^[r]we have all received, and ^[s]grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For ^(AB)the Law was given through Moses; ^(AC)grace and ^(AD)truth ^[t]were realized through Jesus Christ. ^18 (AE)No one has seen God at any time; ^(AF)God the only Son, who is ^(AG)in the ^[u]arms of the Father, ^(AH)He has ^[v]explained Him.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹ This is ^(AI)the testimony of John, when ^(AJ)the Jews sent priests and Levites to him ^(AK)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny; and this is what he confessed: “^(AL)I am not the ^[w]Christ.” ²¹ And so they asked him, “What then? Are you ^(AM)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(AN)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 ^(AO)the voice of one calling ^[x]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 ^[y]Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^(AP)the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, saying, “^(AQ)I baptize ^[z]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is ^(AR)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the ^(AS)strap of His sandal.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany ^(AT)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people.

²⁹ The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, ^(AU)the Lamb of God who ^(AV)takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘^(AW)After me is coming a Man who has proved to be ^[aa]my superior, ^(AX)because He existed before me.’ ³¹ And I did not recognize ^[ab]Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing ^[ac]in water.” ³² And John ^(AY)testified, saying, “^(AZ)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ And I did not recognize ^[ad]Him, but He who sent me to baptize ^[ae]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, ^(BA)this is the One who baptizes ^[af]in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is ^(BB)the ^[ag]Son of God.”

Jesus’ Public Ministry; First Converts

³⁵ Again ^(BC)the next day John was standing ^[ah]with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, ^(BD)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, “^(BE)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 ^[ai]tenth hour. ^40 (BF)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 ^(BG)Messiah” (which translated means ^[aj]Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ^[ak](BH)John; you shall be called ^(BI)Cephas” (which is translated ^[al](BJ)Peter).

^43 (BK)The next day He ^[am]decided to go to ^(BL)Galilee, and He *found ^(BM)Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “^(BN)Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now ^(BO)Philip was from ^(BP)Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ^45 (BQ)Philip *found ^(BR)Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom ^(BS)Moses wrote in the Law, and ^(BT)the prophets also wrote: Jesus ^(BU)the son of Joseph, from ^(BV)Nazareth!” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “^(BW)Can anything good be from Nazareth?” ^(BX)Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Here is truly an ^(BY)Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before ^(BZ)Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered Him, “^(CA)Rabbi, You are ^(CB)the Son of God; You are the ^(CC)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 ^(CD)heaven opened and ^(CE)the angels of God ascending and descending on ^(CF)the Son of Man.”

Miracle at Cana

2 On ^(CG)the third day there was a wedding in ^(CH)Cana of Galilee, and the ^(CI)mother of Jesus was there; ² and both Jesus and His ^(CJ)disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus *said to her, “^[an](CK)What business do you have with Me, ^(CL)woman? ^(CM)My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His ^(CN)mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He tells you, do it.” ⁶ Now there were six stone waterpots standing there ^(CO)for the Jewish custom of purification, containing ^[ao]two or three measures each. ⁷ Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the ^[ap]headwaiter.” And they took it to him. ⁹ Now when the headwaiter tasted the water ^(CP)which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the groom, ¹⁰ and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the guests ^(CQ)are drunk, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ This beginning of His ^[aq](CR)signs Jesus did in Cana of ^(CS)Galilee, and revealed His ^(CT)glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

¹² After this He went down to ^(CU)Capernaum, He and His ^(CV)mother, and His ^(CW)brothers and His ^(CX)disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

First Passover—Cleansing the Temple

^13 (CY)The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus ^(CZ)went up to Jerusalem. ^14 (DA)And within the temple grounds He found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. ¹⁵ And He made a whip of ^[ar]cords, and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; ¹⁶ and to those who were selling ^(DB)the doves He said, “Take these things away from here; stop making ^(DC)My Father’s house a ^[as]place of business!” ¹⁷ His ^(DD)disciples remembered that it was written: “^(DE)Zeal for Your house will consume me.” ^18 (DF)The Jews then said to Him, “^(DG)What sign do You show us ^[at]as your authority for doing these things?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “^(DH)Destroy this ^[au]temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ^20 (DI)The Jews then said, “It took ^(DJ)forty-six years to build this ^[av]temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But He was speaking about ^(DK)the ^[aw]temple of His body. ²² So when He was raised from the dead, His ^(DL)disciples ^(DM)remembered that He said this; and they believed ^(DN)the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

²³ Now when He was in Jerusalem at ^(DO)the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name as they ^(DP)observed His signs which He was doing. ²⁴ But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, because ^(DQ)He knew all people, ²⁵ and because He did not need anyone to testify about mankind, ^(DR)for He Himself knew what was in mankind.

The New Birth

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named ^(DS)Nicodemus, a ^(DT)ruler of the Jews; ² this man came to ^[ax]Jesus at night and said to Him, “^(DU)Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these ^[ay](DV)signs that You do unless ^(DW)God is with him.” ³ Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone ^(DX)is born ^[az]again he cannot see ^(DY)the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of ^(DZ)water and the Spirit, he cannot enter ^(EA)the kingdom of God. ^6 (EB)That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born ^[ba]again.’ ^8 (EC)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “You are ^(ED)the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(EE)we speak of what we know and ^(EF)testify of what we have seen, and ^(EG)you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (EH)No one has ascended into heaven, except ^(EI)He who descended from heaven: ^(EJ)the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as ^(EK)Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must ^(EL)the Son of Man ^(EM)be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who ^[bb]believes will ^(EN)have eternal life in Him.

¹⁶ “For God so ^(EO)loved the world, that He ^(EP)gave His ^(EQ)only Son, so that everyone who ^(ER)believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God ^(ES)did not send the Son into the world ^(ET)to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. ^18 (EU)The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of ^(EV)the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that ^(EW)the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for ^(EX)their deeds were evil. ^20 (EY)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. ²¹ But the one who ^(EZ)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed ^[bc]as having been performed in God.”

John the Baptist’s Last Testimony

²² After these things Jesus and His ^(FA)disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He was spending time with them and ^(FB)baptizing. ²³ Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized— ²⁴ for ^(FC)John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about ^[bd](FD)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “^(FE)Rabbi, He who was with you ^(FF)beyond the Jordan, to whom you ^(FG)have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.” ²⁷ John replied, “^(FH)A person can receive not even one thing unless it ^(FI)has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves ^[be]are my witnesses that I said, ‘^(FJ)I am not the ^[bf]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is ^(FK)the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this ^(FL)joy of mine has been made full. ³⁰ He must ^[bg]increase, but I must ^[bh]decrease.

³¹ “^(FM)He who comes from above is above all; ^(FN)the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. ^(FO)He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² What He has seen and heard, of this He ^(FP)testifies; and ^(FQ)no one accepts His testimony. ³³ The one who has accepted His testimony ^(FR)has certified that God is true. ³⁴ For He whom God ^(FS)sent speaks the words of God; ^(FT)for He does not give the Spirit ^[bi]sparingly. ^35 (FU)The Father loves the Son and ^(FV)has entrusted all things to His hand. ³⁶ The one who ^(FW)believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who ^(FX)does not ^[bj]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”