John 1
1 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.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He always existed with God [before] he began [MTY] [to create anything].
This man was in the beginning with God.
3 He is the one by whom [God] caused everything to exist. He is the one who created absolutely everything [LIT].
All things came to be through him, and apart from him not even one thing came to be that has come to be.
4 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].
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 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.)
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 A man whose name was John was sent by God {God sent a man whose name was John}.
A man came to be who was sent from God, his name was John.
7 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].
This man came for testimony so that he might testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
8 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.
That man was not the light, but that he might testify about the light.
9 [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].
He was the true light coming into the world that enlightens every man.
10 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.)
He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, and the world knew him not.
11 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).
He came to his own, and his own did not accept him.
12 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].
But as many as did accept him, to them he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,
13 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.
who were begotten, not from blood, nor from a will of flesh, nor from a will of man, but from God.
14 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].
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 [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]!”
John testified about him, and cried out, saying, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me came to be before me, because he was before me.
16 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.
And from his fullness we all received, even grace for grace.
17 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].
Because the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ.
18 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.
No man has ever seen God. The only begotten Son, being in the bosom of the Father, that man reported him.
19 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?”
And this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent forth priests and Levites from Jerusalem so that they might ask him, Who are thou?
20 So John told them the truth, and he told them clearly [DOU]. He said, “[I] am not (the Messiah/God’s chosen king)!”
And he confessed, and did not deny, and confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 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.”
And they asked him, What therefore, are thou Elijah? And he says, I am not. Are thou the prophet? And he answered, No.
22 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?”
They said therefore to him, Who are thou, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do thou say about thyself?
23 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].
He said, I am the voice of a man crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, just as the prophet Isaiah said.
24 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}.
And those who were sent were from the Pharisees.
25 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]?”
And they asked him, and said to him, Why therefore do thou immerse if thou are not the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet?
26 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.
John answered them, saying, I immerse in water, but amidst you stands him whom ye know not.
27 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.”
He is the man who comes after me, who has become before me, of whom I am not worthy that I might loosen the strap of his shoe.
28 Those things happened at [a place called] Bethany, on the [east] side of the Jordan [River], where John was baptizing people.
These things occurred in Bethany beyond the Jordan where John was immersing.
29 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.
On the morrow John sees Jesus coming to him, and he says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 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.’
This is he about whom I said, After me comes a man who has become before me, because he was before me.
31 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.”
And I had not known him, but that he would be made known to Israel. Because of this I came immersing in water.
32 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.
And John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained upon him.
33 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].’
And I had not known him. But he who sent me to immerse in water, he said to me, Upon whomever thou will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who immerses in the Holy Spirit.
34 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).”
And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.
35 The next day John was at the same place again (with two of us/with two of his disciples).
Again on the morrow John stood, and two of his disciples.
36 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!]”
And having looked upon Jesus walking, he says, Behold, the Lamb of God!
37 (When we/those two disciples) heard John say this, we/they went with Jesus.
And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus.
38 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].”
And Jesus having turned, and having seen them following, says to them, What seek ye? And they said to him, Rabbi (which says, being interpreted, Teacher), where do thou dwell?
39 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).
He says to them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and remained with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
40 (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.
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard from John and who followed him.
41 [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!”
This man first finds his own brother Simon, and says to him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, Christ).
42 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.
And he brought him to Jesus. And having seen him, Jesus said, Thou are Simon the son of Jonah. Thou will be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter).
43 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!”
On the morrow he wanted to go forth into Galilee, and he finds Philip. And Jesus says to him, Follow me.
44 Philip and Andrew and Peter were all from Bethsaida [town].
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 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.”
Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth.
46 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!”
And Nathanael said to him, What good can be from Nazareth? Philip says to him, Come and see.
47 When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said about Nathaniel, “Here is an example of a good Israelite! He never deceives anyone!”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and says about him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit.
48 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.”
Nathanael says to him, How do thou know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called thee, being under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 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]!”
Nathanael answered, and says to him, Rabbi, thou are the Son of God. Thou are the king of Israel.
50 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!”
Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, thou believe? Thou will see greater than these things.
51 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.”
And he says to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, henceforth ye will see the heaven opened, and the agents of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
