John 1

Listen to John 1

The Word Became Flesh

1 1In the beginning was 2the Word, and 3the Word was with God, and 4the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 5All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 6In him was life,[a] and 7the life was the light of men.
5 8The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man 9sent from God, whose name was 10John.
7 He came as a 11witness, to bear witness about the light, 12that all might believe through him.
8 13He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 14The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet 15the world did not know him.
11 He came to 16his own,[b] and 17his own people[c]18 did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, 19who believed in his name, 20he gave the right 21to become 22children of God,
13 who 23were born, 24not of blood 25nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And 26the Word 27became flesh and 28dwelt among us, 29and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of 30grace and 31truth.
15 (32John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 33'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")
16 And from 34his fullness we have all received, 35grace upon grace.
17 For 36the law was given through Moses; 37grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 38No one has ever seen God; 39the only God[d], who is at the Father's side[e]40, he has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 And this is the 41testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 42"Who are you?"
20 43He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
21 And they asked him, "What then? 44Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not.""Are you 45the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."
22 So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
23 He said, "I am 46the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight[f] the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
25 They asked him, 47"Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
26 John answered them, 48"I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
27 even 49he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."
28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, 50the Lamb of God, who 51takes away the sin 52of the world!
30 This is he of whom I said, 53'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.'
31 I myself did not know him, but 54for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."
32 And John 55bore witness: 56"I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and 57it remained on him.
33 I myself did not know him, but 58he who sent me to baptize 59with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, 60this is he who baptizes 61with the Holy Spirit.'
34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,
36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, 62the Lamb of God!"
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, 63"What are you seeking?" And they said to him, 64"Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39 He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[g]
40 65One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[h] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found 66the Messiah" (which means Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of 67John? You shall be called 68Cephas" (which means 69Peter[i]).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 70The next day Jesus decided 71to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
44 Now 72Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found 73Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom 74Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus 75of Nazareth, 76the son of Joseph."
46 Nathanael said to him, 77"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, 78an Israelite indeed, 79in whom there is no deceit!"
48 Nathanael said to him, "How 80do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49 Nathanael answered him, 81"Rabbi, 82you are the Son of God! You are the 83King of Israel!"
50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these."
51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you,[j] you will see 84heaven opened, and 85the angels of God ascending and descending on 86the Son of Man."

Images for John 1

Cross References 86

  • 1. Genesis 1:1; [Colossians 1:17; 1 John 1:1; Rev. 1:4, 8, 17; Revelation 3:14; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:13]
  • 2. Revelation 19:13; [Hebrews 4:12; 1 John 1:1]
  • 3. 1 John 1:2; [John 17:5]
  • 4. Philippians 2:6
  • 5. ver. 10; Psalms 33:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2
  • 6. John 5:26; John 11:25; 1 John 1:2; 1 John 5:11
  • 7. John 8:12; John 9:5; John 12:46
  • 8. [John 3:19]
  • 9. ver. 33; John 3:28; Malachi 3:1
  • 10. Matthew 3:1; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:2
  • 11. John 3:26; John 5:33
  • 12. Acts 19:4
  • 13. ver. 20
  • 14. Isaiah 49:6; 1 John 2:8
  • 15. [John 16:3; 1 John 3:1]
  • 16. Matthew 21:38
  • 17. John 13:1
  • 18. John 5:43; [John 3:11, 32]
  • 19. See 1 John 5:13
  • 20. 1 John 5:1
  • 21. 1 John 3:1; [Matthew 5:45]
  • 22. [Galatians 3:26]; See John 11:52
  • 23. James 1:18; [John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:3]
  • 24. 1 Peter 1:23
  • 25. John 3:6
  • 26. ver. 1
  • 27. Romans 1:3; Romans 8:3; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:7, 8; Colossians 1:22; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7; [John 6:51]
  • 28. Revelation 7:15; Revelation 21:3
  • 29. John 2:11; Luke 9:32; 2 Peter 1:16, 17; 1 John 1:1; 1 John 4:14
  • 30. See ver. 7
  • 31. [John 14:6]
  • 32. See ver. 7
  • 33. ver. 27, 30; See Matthew 3:11
  • 34. Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 3:19; Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9
  • 35. [Matthew 25:29]
  • 36. John 7:19; Exodus 20:1
  • 37. ver. 14; [Romans 5:21]
  • 38. John 5:37; John 6:46; Exodus 33:20; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 6:16; 1 John 4:12, 20; [John 12:45]
  • 39. ver. 14; See John 3:16
  • 40. [Matthew 11:27]; See John 3:32
  • 41. John 3:26
  • 42. [John 8:25]
  • 43. ver. 8; John 3:28; Acts 13:25; [Luke 3:15]
  • 44. [Matthew 11:14; Matthew 16:14]
  • 45. See Deuteronomy 18:15, 18
  • 46. Cited from Isaiah 40:3; See Matthew 3:3
  • 47. Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3, 7
  • 48. Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7, 8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5; Acts 13:25
  • 49. ver. 15, 30
  • 50. ver. 36; Exodus 12:3; Isaiah 53:7; Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19; [Genesis 22:8; Revelation 5:6]
  • 51. 1 John 3:5; [Hebrews 10:4, 11]
  • 52. [John 3:16, 17; John 4:42; John 12:47; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:14]
  • 53. ver. 15, 27
  • 54. Luke 1:17, 76, 77
  • 55. See ver. 7
  • 56. Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22
  • 57. [Isaiah 11:2; Acts 10:38]
  • 58. ver. 6; Luke 3:2
  • 59. [John 3:5]
  • 60. Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5
  • 61. [John 3:5]
  • 62. See ver. 29
  • 63. John 18:4, 7; John 20:15
  • 64. ver. 49; John 3:2, 26; John 6:25; [John 20:16; Mark 10:51]
  • 65. For ver. 40-42, [Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:2-11]
  • 66. John 4:25
  • 67. John 21:15-17
  • 68. 1 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 3:22
  • 69. Matthew 16:18
  • 70. [ver. 35; John 2:1]
  • 71. [ver. 28]
  • 72. John 12:21
  • 73. John 21:2
  • 74. See Luke 16:16; Luke 24:27
  • 75. See Matthew 2:23
  • 76. John 6:42; Luke 3:23
  • 77. [John 7:41, 52]
  • 78. Psalms 73:1; Romans 9:4, 6
  • 79. Psalms 32:2; [Zephaniah 3:13; Revelation 14:5]
  • 80. John 2:24, 25
  • 81. See ver. 38
  • 82. [John 6:69; John 11:27; John 20:28]
  • 83. John 12:13; Zephaniah 3:15; Matthew 27:11, 42; [Zechariah 9:9]
  • 84. Ezekiel 1:1; Matthew 3:16; Luke 3:21
  • 85. [Genesis 28:12]
  • 86. See Daniel 7:13

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. Or was not any thing made. That which has been made was life in him
  • [b]. Greek to his own things; that is, to his own domain, or to his own people
  • [c]. People is implied in Greek
  • [d]. Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son
  • [e]. Greek in the bosom of the Father
  • [f]. Or crying out, 'In the wilderness make straight
  • [g]. That is, about 4 p.m.
  • [h]. Greek him
  • [i]. Cephas and Peter are from the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek, respectively
  • [j]. The Greek for you is plural; twice in this verse

John 1 Commentaries

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.