John 1
The full text of John 1 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through him; without him, not one thing came into being that has come into being.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not mastered it.
6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
8 He himself was not the light, but came to testify about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of a husband's will, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory — glory as of the only Son from the Father — full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about him and cried out, saying, 'This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me has come ahead of me, because he was before me."'
16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
20 He confessed and did not deny; he confessed, "I am not the Messiah."
21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."
22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"
23 He said, "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
26 John answered them, "I baptize with water; among you stands one whom you do not know,"
27 "the one who comes after me, whose sandal-strap I am not worthy to untie."
28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, 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 has come ahead of me, because he was before me.'
31 I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason: that he might be revealed to Israel.
32 And John testified, saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and remaining on him."
33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
34 And I have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One of God.
35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples,
36 and gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, "Behold, the 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, "What are you seeking?" They said to him, "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 remained with him that day; for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets also — Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."
46 And Nathanael said to him, "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, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
50 Jesus answered him, "Do you believe because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree'? You will see greater things than these."
51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
Translation notes (31)
- John 1:1a The Greek phrase pros ton theon literally means 'toward God,' indicating that the Word is personally turned toward God, not just located alongside Him.
- John 1:1b The Greek word theos in this clause, used without the article 'the' and as a description, means 'God in nature.' This indicates that the Word fully shares the divine nature, not that He is merely 'a god' or numerically the Father.
- John 1:3a Ancient manuscripts have no punctuation, so the phrase 'that has come into being' can either conclude verse 3 (as preferred by the critical Greek text and rendered here) or begin verse 4 ('what has come into being in him was life').
- John 1:5a The Greek word katelaben has a double meaning, referring to both 'overcome' (to subdue) and 'grasp/comprehend' (to apprehend). The English word 'mastered' captures both of these senses.
- John 1:9a Older translations, such as the King James Version, connect the phrase 'coming into the world' with 'every person' (a Hebrew idiom for 'everyone in existence'). However, the modern critical reading connects it with 'the true light,' as it is rendered here.
- John 1:11a The Greek text shifts gender: ta idia (neuter, referring to 'what was his own,' such as his realm or property) and hoi idioi (masculine, referring to 'his own people'). These two phrases are not redundant, distinguishing between the world he made and the people within that world.
- John 1:13a All Greek manuscripts read the plural 'were born,' referring to the children mentioned in verse 12. A singular reading 'was born,' referring to Christ, appears only in some Old Latin and early church writings, and is rejected by the critical Greek text.
- John 1:13b The Greek word andros specifically means 'a husband' or 'a male,' rather than the generic anthropou, which means 'human.' This verse contrasts human conception with divine begetting.
- John 1:14a Greek ἐσκήνωσεν — literally 'pitched his tent / tabernacled.' Echoes the wilderness Tabernacle where God's glory dwelt among Israel (Exod 25:8; 40:34–35). The Word becoming flesh is God once again pitching his tent with his people, this time in person.
- John 1:14b The Greek word monogenous means 'one of a kind,' 'unique,' or 'only.' The older translation 'only-begotten' (from the Latin unigenitus) adds more meaning than the Greek word itself, which comes from genos ('kind') rather than gennao ('beget'). This emphasizes that the Word is uniquely the Son, not generated in the same way creatures are.
- John 1:15a John uses three different prepositions to convey distinct meanings: opiso mou means 'comes after me' (chronologically arrives later), emprosthen mou gegonen means 'has come ahead of me' (outranks or precedes me in dignity), and protos mou en means 'was before me' (pre-existed me).
- John 1:16a The meaning of the Greek phrase charin anti charitos is debated. The word anti normally means 'in place of' or 'instead of,' leading some scholars to prefer 'grace in place of grace' (meaning gospel grace succeeds or fulfills Mosaic grace, which fits verse 17). However, most modern translations, including the one above, use 'grace upon grace' to convey a sense of accumulation. The verse may carry both meanings: an unending succession of grace, with each new grace replacing yet exceeding the last.
- John 1:18a The Greek phrase monogenes theos literally means 'only God' or 'unique God.' The earliest manuscripts (P66, P75, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, C*) read 'God,' while the later majority of manuscripts (A, C³, K, Γ, Δ, Θ, Ψ, later Byzantine manuscripts) reads 'Son.' This translation follows the earliest broadly-attested reading, 'God,' which more strongly affirms the Word's full deity, completing the prologue's opening statement in verse 1.
- John 1:18b The Greek phrase ho on eis ton kolpon tou patros means 'in the bosom of the Father,' which is a Hebrew and Greek idiom for the closest relational intimacy (compare John 13:23, where the beloved disciple reclines in Jesus' kolpos). While 'at the Father's side' is a modern translation, 'in the Father's bosom' preserves the original idiom.
- John 1:19a In John's Gospel, the Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi often refers specifically to the Jerusalem religious authorities, rather than to Jewish people generally. It is rendered 'Jewish leaders' here to avoid implying opposition from all Jewish people.
- John 1:21a ὁ προφήτης 'the Prophet' (with article): not any prophet, but the eschatological prophet expected in Jewish tradition (cf. Deut 18:15, 18; promises of one like Moses).
- John 1:23a John quotes Isaiah 40:3 from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. The standard Hebrew text places the pause after 'A voice cries,' meaning 'A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare…'; however, the Septuagint (and John) reads 'A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare…'. This changes the location of the action.
- John 1:28a A few late manuscripts read 'Bethabara' (as in the King James Version), but the critical Greek text prefers 'Bethany,' which is supported by more and earlier manuscripts. This is not the Bethany near Jerusalem (compare John 11), but a different village across the Jordan River.
- John 1:29a The Greek phrase hamartian tou kosmou uses the singular 'sin of the world,' not the plural 'sins.' This indicates that the Lamb addresses sin as the world's collective condition, rather than a count of individual wrongdoings.
- John 1:29b The Greek word airon means "is taking away" or "takes away," indicating an ongoing action, though the English simple present is conventionally used.
- John 1:33a The Greek phrase en pneumati hagiō can mean either "with" (instrumental) or "in" (locative) the Holy Spirit. Both translations are possible; the "in" (locative) sense parallels imagery of immersion-baptism, while the "with" (instrumental) sense matches "with water" in the same verse.
- John 1:34a Some Greek manuscripts, including the earliest surviving witness (P5, around the 3rd century), read ho eklektos, "the Chosen One," which is considered the more difficult reading, while others, including the majority of later Byzantine manuscripts, read ho huios, "the Son." The critical Greek text prefers "Son," but the Trinity Bible Version follows its.
- John 1:39a "About the tenth hour" could mean approximately 4 p.m. (Jewish reckoning from sunrise) or 10 a.m. (Roman civil reckoning from midnight). Most commentators prefer the Jewish reading of late afternoon, which would explain the decision to stay overnight.
- John 1:41a The Greek word prōton, meaning "first," is the dominant reading in the critical Greek text. A few manuscripts read prōï, meaning "early" (in the morning); however, the "first" reading is preferred and fits Andrew's role in the narrative.
- John 1:41b John translates the Aramaic/Hebrew word "Messiah" into the Greek word "Christ" for his Greek readership. This indicates that the Gospel was written for a non-Hebrew audience, yet it still preserves the Hebrew title.
- John 1:42a "Cephas" is the Aramaic word Kepha, meaning "rock," while "Peter" is the Greek word Petros, also meaning "rock." John presents both names: the Aramaic name Jesus gave him and the Greek equivalent used in the church. This renaming is a vocational call, meaning "You will be a Rock."
- John 1:42b 'Son of John' (NA28). Some later manuscripts harmonize with Matt 16:17's 'son of Jonah'; NA28 prefers the better-attested 'John.'
- John 1:47a The Greek word dolos, meaning "deceit" or "guile," is an allusion to Jacob/Israel, who was described as "a man of cunning" in Genesis 27. After wrestling at Peniel, Jacob was renamed Israel. Jesus calls Nathanael "an Israelite without deceit," identifying him as a true Israel, like the renamed Jacob who no longer possessed his old cunning.
- John 1:48a 'Under the fig tree': in Jewish tradition (Mic 4:4; Zech 3:10) sitting under one's own fig tree symbolizes the peace of the messianic age. Some rabbinic sources also place Torah study and meditation under fig trees. Jesus' knowing where Nathanael was is presented as miraculous insight, not memory.
- John 1:51a The Greek phrase amēn amēn, meaning "truly, truly," is a distinctive double-amen found 25 times in John's Gospel alone (the Synoptic Gospels use a single amēn). This repetition makes the statement solemn and emphatic. The translation "I tell you the truth" (NIV) loses this specific formula.
- John 1:51b Allusion to Jacob's ladder (Gen 28:12): 'a ladder set up on the earth ... and the angels of God ascending and descending on it.' In Genesis the angels move on the ladder; here on the Son of Man. The Son of Man is himself the ladder Jacob saw — the bridge between heaven and earth. The chapter that opened with the eternal Logos closes with Jesus identified as Jacob's-ladder-in-person.
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