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The Blue Letter Bible

John 1 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word
(Gen 1:1—2:3 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:1

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:1 - In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:2

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:2 - He existed in the beginning with God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:3

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:3 - God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:4

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:4 - The Word gave life to everything that was created,[fn]
and his life brought light to everyone.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:5

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:6

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:6 - God sent a man, John the Baptist,[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:7

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:7 - to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:8

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:8 - John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:9

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:9 - The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:10

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:10 - He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:11

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:11 - He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:12

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:12 - But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:13

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:13 - They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:14

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:14 - So the Word became human[fn] and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[fn] And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:15

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:15 - John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:16

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:16 - From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:17

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:17 - For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:18

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:18 - No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,[fn] is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
(Mat 3:1–12; Mar 1:1–8; Luk 3:1–20 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:19

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:19 - This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants[fn] from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:20

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:20 - He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:21

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:21 - “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”[fn]
“No.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:22

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:22 - “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:23

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:23 - John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the LORD’s coming!’”[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:24

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:24 - Then the Pharisees who had been sent

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:25

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:25 - asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:26

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:26 - John told them, “I baptize with[fn] water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:27

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:27 - Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:28

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:28 - This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
Jesus, the Lamb of God
(Mat 3:13–17; Mar 1:9–11; Luk 3:21, 22 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:29

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:30

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:30 - He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:31

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:31 - I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:32

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:32 - Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:33

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:33 - I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:34

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:34 - I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.[fn]”
The First Disciples

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:35

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:35 - The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:36

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:36 - As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:37

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:37 - When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:38

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:38 - Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:39

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:39 - “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:40

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:40 - Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:41

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:41 - Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”[fn]).

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:42

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:42 - Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”[fn]).

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:43

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:43 - The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:44

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:44 - Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:45

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:45 - Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses[fn] and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:46

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:46 - “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:47

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:47 - As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:48

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:48 - “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:49

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:49 - Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:50

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:50 - Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jhn 1:51

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 1:51 - Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.[fn]”
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
Or and the darkness has not understood it.
Greek a man named John.
Greek became flesh.
Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.
Or received the grace of Christ rather than the grace of the law; Greek reads received grace upon grace.
Some manuscripts read But the one and only Son.
Greek and Levites.
Greek Are you the Prophet? See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
Isa 40:3.
Or in; also in 1:31, 33.
Some manuscripts read the Son of God.
Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “the anointed one.”
The names Cephas (from Aramaic) and Peter (from Greek) both mean “rock.”
Greek Moses in the law.
Greek going up and down on the Son of Man; see Gen 28:10-17. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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John Chapter 1 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras