The Word Became Flesh

1 ^aIn the beginning ^bwas ^cthe Word, and the Word was ^dwith God, and ^ethe Word was God. 2 ^fHe was in the beginning with God. 3 ^gAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 ^hIn him was life,¹ and the life was the ⁱlight of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 ^jThere was a man ^ksent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a ^lwitness, ^mto bear witness about the light, ⁿthat all might believe through him. 8 ^oHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true ^plight, which gives light ^qto everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,² and ^rhis own people³ did not ^sreceive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, ^twho believed ^uin his name, he gave the right to become ^vchildren of God, 13 who were ^wborn, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word ^xbecame flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his ^yglory, glory as of the only ^zSon⁴ from the Father, full of ^agrace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ^b‘He who comes after me ranks ^cbefore me, because he was ^dbefore me.’”) 16 For from his ^efullness we have all received, grace upon grace.⁵ 17 For the law was given ^fthrough Moses; ^ggrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 ^hNo one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who⁶ is ⁱat the Father’s side,^{7 j}he has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 ^kAnd this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ^l“I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? ^mAre you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you ⁿthe 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 ^othe voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight⁸ the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he 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 ^pThe next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, ^qthe Lamb of God, who ^rtakes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ^sbefore me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John ^tbore witness: ^u“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize ^vwith water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes ^wwith the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the ^xSon⁹ of God.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

35 ^yThe next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and 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?” And they said to him, ^z“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.¹⁰ 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus¹¹ was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the ^aMessiah” (which means ^bChrist). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. ^cYou shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter¹²).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ^d“Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found ^eNathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom ^fMoses in the Law and also the ^gprophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, ^hthe son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, ⁱ“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, ^jin 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, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see ^kgreater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,¹³ you will see ^lheaven opened, and ^mthe angels of God ascending and descending on the ⁿSon of Man.”

Save Me, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.