[English Bible study] John chapter 1
Jn. 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
Jn. 1:2 He was with God in the beginning.
Jn. 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was
made that has been made.
Jn. 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Jn. 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
understood [Or darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome] it.
Jn. 1:6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was
John.
Jn. 1:7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that
through him all men might believe.
Jn. 1:8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the
light.
Jn. 1:9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into
the world. [Or This was the true light that gives light to every
man who comes into the world]
Jn. 1:10 He was in the world, and though the world was made
through him, the world did not recognise him.
Jn. 1:11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him.
Jn. 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God —
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Jn. 1:13 children born not of natural descent, [Greek: of bloods] nor
of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Jn. 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, [Or the
Only Begotten] who came from the Father, full of grace and
truth.
Jn. 1:15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was
he of whom I said, `He who comes after me has surpassed me
because he was before me.’“
Jn. 1:16 From the fulness of his grace we have all received one
blessing after another.
Jn. 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ.
Jn. 1:18 No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, [Or
the Only Begotten] [Some manuscripts: but the only (or only
begotten) Son] who is at the Father’s side, has made him
known.
Jn. 1:19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem
sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
Jn. 1:20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the
Christ.” [Or Messiah. “The Christ” (Greek) and “the
Messiah” (Hebrew) both mean “the Anointed One”; also in
verse 25.]
Jn. 1:21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He
said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
Jn. 1:22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take
back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
Jn. 1:23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the
voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for
the Lord.’“ [Isaiah 40:3]
Jn. 1:24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent
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Jn. 1:25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptise if you are not the
Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
Jn. 1:26 “I baptise with [Or in; also in verses 31 and 33] water,” John
replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.
Jn. 1:27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose
sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
Jn. 1:28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,
where John was baptising.
Jn. 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said,
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world!
Jn. 1:30 This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after
me has surpassed me because he was before me.’
Jn. 1:31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising
with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Jn. 1:32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down
from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
Jn. 1:33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent
me to baptise with water told me, `The man on whom you
see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptise
with the Holy Spirit.’
Jn. 1:34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
Jn. 1:35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.
Jn. 1:36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of
God!”
Jn. 1:37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed
Jesus.
Jn. 1:38 Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What
do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher),
“where are you staying?”
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Jn. 1:39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and
saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It
was about the tenth hour.
Jn. 1:40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who
heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
Jn. 1:41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and
tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
Jn. 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said,
“You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas”
(which, when translated, is Peter). [Both Cephas (Aramaic)
and Peter (Greek) mean rock.]
Jn. 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding
Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Jn. 1:44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of
Bethsaida.
Jn. 1:45 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.”
Jn. 1:46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael
asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
Jn. 1:47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him,
“Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”
Jn. 1:48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered,
“I saw you while you were still under the fig-tree before
Philip called you.”
Jn. 1:49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.”
Jn. 1:50 Jesus said, “You believe [Or Do you believe...?] because I
told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You shall see greater
things than that.”
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Jn. 1:51 He then added, “I tell you [The Greek is plural.] the truth,
you [The Greek is plural.] shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
