John 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The one who expresses [MET] ([God’s character/what God is like]) has always existed (from the beginning [MTY] [of everything/before everything began]). He has always existed with God, and he has God’s nature.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
He always existed with God [before] he began [MTY] [to create anything].
3 Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
He is the one by whom [God] caused everything to exist. He is the one who created absolutely everything [LIT].
4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
He is the one who [caused everything to] live. He, who caused us people to live, [revealed to us the truth about God as] a light [MET] [reveals what is in the darkness].
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
People do not want him to reveal [that what they do is evil] [MET], just [like] darkness [is evil]. But [just like] darkness cannot put out light [MET], [evil people have never prevented the one who was like a light from revealing God’s truth] (OR, [evil people have never] understood the [one who was like] a light.)
6 There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John.
A man whose name was John was sent by God {God sent a man whose name was John}.
7 He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe.
He came to tell people [about the one who was like] [MET] a light. He came to show that everything that the [one who was like a light] [MET] said was true, in order that he could enable all people to believe [in the one who was like a light].
8 He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
John himself was not the [one who was like a] light [MET]. Instead, he came to tell others about that [one who was like a] light.
9 The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world.
[While John was doing that], the one who was truly [like] a light was about to show himself to the world. He was the one who enables all people [to know about God, as] a light [MET] enables [people to know what is in the darkness].
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
Although the one [who was like a light] was [here] on the earth, and although he was the one whom [God] caused to create everything, [most] people [MTY, HYP] did not realize who he [was]. (OR, although he was the one whom [God] caused to create everything, [most] people did not accept him.)
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
Although he came to the land that belonged to him [because he created it, most of] his own people, [the Jews], rejected him (OR, did not accept him).
12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
But those [of us who welcomed him, God] authorized [that we would have a relationship with] him [MET] [like] children [have a relationship with their father]. We were people who believed [that what he said] about himself [MTY] [was true].
13 children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
We became [like God’s children], not because our ancestors [belonged to God], or because of someone’s sexual desires, nor because some man desired to have children like himself. Instead, we were caused by God {God caused us} to become [like] his children.
14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The one who expresses [MET] ([God’s character/what God is like]) became a human being, and he lived among us [for a while]. As a result, we saw how wonderful he is. He came from [God] his father, and there was no other person as wonderful as he. He was wonderful because he always acted (kindly toward us/in ways we did not deserve), and he always [spoke] truthfully to us [about God].
15 John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”
[One day] when John was telling people about him, [he saw Jesus]. Then he shouted to them, “I told you [previously] that someone will come later who is more important than I am, since he existed [long] before me. This [is the man I was talking about]!”
16 From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
We have all benefited very much from what he has done. Again and again, he has acted in kind way toward us in ways we did not deserve.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Moses proclaimed [God’s] laws [to our ancestors]. But what Jesus Christ did for us [was much better]. He acted in kindness toward us in ways we did not deserve and told us the truth [about God].
18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
No one has ever seen God. But God’s only Son, [Jesus], who has always had a very close relationship with God, has told us about God.
19 And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
The Jewish [leaders] [SYN] in Jerusalem [city] sent some [Jewish] priests and (Levites/men who worked in the temple) to where John was, to ask him some questions. They said to him, “What do you [claim about] yourself?”
20 He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”
So John told them the truth, and he told them clearly [DOU]. He said, “[I] am not (the Messiah/God’s chosen king)!”
21 “Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
Then they asked him, “Then what [do you say about yourself]? Are you [the prophet] Elijah [that was prophesied to return] {([someone/another prophet]) [prophesied would return]} [before the Messiah]?” He replied, “No, [I] am not.” Then they asked him, “Are you the prophet [like Moses that] ([we are waiting for/God promised to send])?” He replied, “No.”
22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
So they asked him, “Then who do you [claim to be]? [Tell us] so that we can [go back and] report to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
John replied, “[I] am the one [the prophet Isaiah said] would proclaim [this new message] loudly [to the people who would pass by] in this desolate area: ‘Prepare [yourselves to receive] the Lord when he comes [MET], [just like people prepare] a road [for an important official].
24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent
Some of those people [who were questioning] John were ones who had been sent by the Pharisee [religious group] {whom the Pharisee [religious group] had sent}.
25 asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
They asked John, “Since [you say] you are not the Messiah, nor [the prophet] Elijah, nor the prophet [like Moses], [what authority] do you have? [Furthermore], why are you baptizing [Jews, treating them as though they were non-Jews who wanted to become Jews]?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know.
John replied, “I am [just] baptizing people with water [to prepare them to welcome the Messiah]. But [right now] someone is among you whom you people do not know.
27 He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
He [will preach to you] after I [am gone]. [He is so important that] I am not worthy to [serve him as a slave] [MET] [by] untying his sandals.”
28 All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Those things happened at [a place called] Bethany, on the [east] side of the Jordan [River], where John was baptizing people.
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!
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. He said to the people, “Look! Here is the [man whom] God [has appointed to be a sacrifice] [MET], [like] the lambs [that the people of Israel sacrificed! By sacrificing himself] he will [make it possible for everyone in] the world to be no longer [guilty for having] sinned.
30 This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’
He is the one about whom I said [before], ‘Someone will come later who is more important than I am, since he existed [long] before me.’
31 I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”
I myself did not [previously] recognize that he [was the Messiah]. But [now I know who he is], and I have baptized people with water to enable [you people of] Israel to recognize who he is.”
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him.
John spoke clearly [what God had shown him about Jesus]. He said, “I saw [God’s] Spirit as he was descending from heaven in the form of a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus.
33 I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
I myself did not know [previously] that he [was the Messiah]. However, [God] sent me to baptize people with water, [people who said they wanted to turn from their sinful ways. While I was doing that], God told me, ‘The man on whom you will see my Spirit descend and remain is the one who will put the Holy Spirit within you [(pl) to truly change your lives].’
34 I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
I saw [the Spirit descend on him], and I tell you that he is (the Son of God/the person who is both God and man).”
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.
The next day John was at the same place again (with two of us/with two of his disciples).
36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! There is the man God [has appointed to be a sacrifice, like] the lambs [MET] [the people of Israel have sacrificed!]”
37 And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
(When we/those two disciples) heard John say this, we/they went with Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked. They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”
Jesus turned around and saw us/them coming behind him. So he asked us/them, “What do you want?” We/They replied, “Teacher, [tell us] where you are staying, [because we want to talk with you].”
39 “Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.
He replied, “Come [with me], and you will see [where I am staying]!” So we/they went with him and saw where he was staying. We/They stayed with him until about 4 o’clock (OR, from about 4 PM until the next day).
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus.
(One of us/One of the two men) who heard what John had said and who went with Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s [younger] brother.
41 He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).
[After Andrew left Jesus], the first thing he did was to find his own [older] brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah!”
42 Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).
Then he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked intently at him, and then said, “You are Simon. Your father’s name is John. You will be given {[I] will give you} the name Cephas.” [Cephas is an Aramaic name that means ‘solid rock’. It] means [the same in Greek as the name] Peter.
43 The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.”
The next day [Jesus] decided to leave [the Jordan River valley]. He went to Galilee [district] and (OR, on the way there he) found a man named Philip. Jesus said to him, “Come with me!”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.
Philip and Andrew and Peter were all from Bethsaida [town].
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Then Philip [searched for] Nathaniel and found him, and said to him, “We have met [the Messiah], the one Moses [wrote about]! The prophets also [prophesied that he would come]. He is Jesus, from Nazareth [town]. His father’s name is Joseph.”
46 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
Nathaniel replied, “Nazareth? (Nothing good can come from [such an unimportant place]!/Can anything good come from [such an unimportant place]?) [RHQ]” Philip replied, “Come and see!”
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said about Nathaniel, “Here is an example of a good Israelite! He never deceives anyone!”
48 “How do You know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathaniel asked him, “How do you know what I [am like]?” Jesus replied, “I saw you before Philip called you, when you were [by yourself] under the fig tree.”
49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Then Nathaniel declared, “Teacher, you [must be] (the Son of God/the person who is both God and man)! You are the King of Israel [we have been waiting for]!”
50 Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”
Jesus replied to him, “You [RHQ] believe [those things about me] because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree. [I was able to see you supernaturally even though I was far away from you]. But you will see [me do] things that are more surprising than that!”
51 Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Then Jesus said to him, “This is the absolute truth: [Just like what your ancestor Jacob saw long ago in a vision], some day you [(pl)] will see heaven opened up, and you will see God’s angels ascending from me and descending on me, the one who came from heaven.”
