John 1 | King James Version :: ERF Bibleserver

King James Version

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. 35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. 43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

New International Reader’s Version

The Word became a human being

1 In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. 4 Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light. 6 There was a man sent from God. His name was John. 7 He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe. 8 John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognise him. 11 He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him. 12 Some people did accept him and did believe in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. 13 To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does. 14 The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth. 15 John was a witness about the Word. John cried out and said, ‘This was the one I was talking about. I said, “He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.” ’ 16 God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given. 17 In the past, God gave us grace through the law of Moses. Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.

John the Baptist says that he is not the Messiah

19 The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John spoke the truth to them. 20 He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21 They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet we’ve been expecting?’ they asked. ‘No’, he answered. 22 They asked one last time, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 23 John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, ‘I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert, “Make the way for the Lord straight.” ’ (Isa 40:3) 24 The Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, ‘If you are not the Messiah, why are you baptising people? Why are you doing that if you aren’t Elijah or the Prophet we’ve been expecting?’ 26 ‘I baptise people with water,’ John replied. ‘But someone is standing among you whom you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.’ 28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the River Jordan. That was where John was baptising.

What John says about Jesus

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him. John said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I was talking about. I said, “A man who comes after me is more important than I am. That’s because he existed before I was born.” 31 I did not know him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That’s the reason I came baptising with water.’ 32 Then John told them, ‘I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus. 33 I myself did not know him. But the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.” 34 I have seen it happen. I am a witness that this is God’s Chosen One.’

John’s disciples follow Jesus

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 He saw Jesus walking by. John said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God!’ 37 The two disciples heard him say this. So they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned round and saw them following. He asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi, where are you staying?’ Rabbi means Teacher. 39 ‘Come’, he replied. ‘You will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying. They spent the rest of the day with him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard what John had said. He had also followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. He told him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’ Messiah means Christ. 42 And he brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas.’ Cephas means Peter, or Rock.

Jesus chooses Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 44 Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the Law. The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ 46 ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael approaching. Here is what Jesus said about him. ‘He is a true Israelite. Nothing about him is false.’ 48 ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree. I saw you there before Philip called you.’ 49 Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.’ 50 Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ 51 Then he said to the disciples, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. You will see heaven open. You will see the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.’