< John 1 >
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He Himself existed in the beginning with God.
3 All things came to be by Him; that is, apart from Him not even one thing that has come into being came to be.
4 In Him was life, and the Life was the Light of mankind.
5 Now the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
7 This man came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
8 He himself was not the Light but was to testify about the Light—
9 the true Light which illumines everyone who comes into the world.
10 He was in the world, the world that came into being by Him, yet the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own things, yet His own people did not receive Him.
12 But, as many as did receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe into His name:
13 who were begotten, not by blood, nor by the desire of the flesh, nor by the will of a man, but by God.
14 So the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we observed His glory, glory of an Only-begotten, from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about Him and called out saying: “This is He of whom I said, ‘The One coming after me is now ahead of me, because He existed before I did.’”
16 Now we have all received from His fullness, yes, grace upon grace.
17 Because the Law was given through Moses; the Grace and the Truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God. The Only-begotten Son, who exists in the bosom of the Father, He has interpreted Him.
19 Now this is John's testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, he did not deny but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 So they asked him, “What then, are you Elijah?” And he says, “I am not.” “Are you ‘the Prophet’?” “No,” he answered.
22 So they said to him: “Who are you?—so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am ‘the voice of one calling out: “Make the Lord's road straight in the wilderness,”’ just as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those who had been sent were from the Pharisees.
25 So they asked him saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor ‘the Prophet’?”
26 John answered them saying: “I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.
27 He is the One coming after me who is now ahead of me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things happened in Bithabara, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John sees Jesus coming toward him and says: “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is now ahead of me, because He existed before I did.’
31 I did not know Him; but so that He should be revealed to Israel, that is why I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John testified saying: “I observed the Spirit coming down like a dove out of heaven, and He rested upon Him.
33 Now I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, ‘The One upon whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting—this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34 So I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples.
36 And seeing Jesus walking by, he says, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 So turning and observing them following Jesus says to them, “What do you want?” So they said to Him, “Rabbi” (which translated means ‘Teacher’), “where are You staying?”
39 He says to them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and stayed with Him that day—it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first finds his own brother Simon and says to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated ‘Christ’).
42 And he led him to Jesus. Looking at him Jesus said, “You are Simon, the son of Jonah; you will be called Cephas” (which is translated ‘Stone’).
43 The next day He decided to go to Galilee, so He finds Philip and says to him, “Follow me.”
44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.)
45 Philip finds Nathanael and says to him, “We have found the One of whom Moses in the Law—and also the prophets—wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Natsareth.”
46 So Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Natsareth?” Philip says to him, “Come and see!”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and says about him, “There, a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael says to Him, “From where do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 In answer Nathanael says to Him: “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him: “You believe because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater than these.”
51 And He says to him, “I tell you (pl) most assuredly, later on you will see the heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of the Man.”
