The Word Became Flesh

1 ^aIn the beginning was ^bthe Word, and ^cthe Word was with God, and ^dthe Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 ^eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 ^fIn him was life,¹ and ^gthe life was the light of men. 5 ^hThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man ⁱsent from God, whose name was ^jJohn. 7 He came as a ^kwitness, to bear witness about the light, ^lthat all might believe through him. 8 ^mHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 ⁿThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet ^othe world did not know him. 11 He came to ^phis own,² and ^qhis own people^{3 r}did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, ^swho believed in his name, ^the gave the right ^uto become ^vchildren of God, 13 who ^wwere born, ^xnot of blood ^ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And ^zthe Word ^abecame flesh and ^bdwelt among us, ^cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son⁴ from the Father, full of ^dgrace and ^etruth. 15 (^fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ^g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from ^hhis fullness we have all received, ⁱgrace upon grace.⁵ 17 For ^jthe law was given through Moses; ^kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 ^lNo one has ever seen God; ^mthe only God,⁶ who is at the Father’s side,^{7 n}he has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 And this is the ^otestimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ^p“Who are you?” 20 ^qHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? ^rAre you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you ^sthe 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 ^tthe 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, ^u“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, ^v“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even ^whe 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, ^xthe Lamb of God, who ^ytakes away the sin ^zof the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ^a‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but ^bfor this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John ^cbore witness: ^d“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and ^eit remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but ^fhe who sent me to baptize ^gwith water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, ^hthis is he who baptizes ^gwith the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son⁹ 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, ⁱthe 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, ^j“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, ^k“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 ^lOne 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 ^mthe Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ⁿJohn. You shall be called ^oCephas” (which means ^pPeter¹²).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 ^qThe next day Jesus decided ^rto go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now ^sPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found ^tNathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom ^uMoses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus ^vof Nazareth, ^wthe son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, ^x“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, ^yan Israelite indeed, ^zin whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How ^ado you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, ^b“Rabbi, ^cyou are the Son of God! You are the ^dKing 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,¹³ you will see ^eheaven opened, and ^fthe angels of God ascending and descending on ^gthe Son of Man.”

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

1 After this there was a ^ofeast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by ^pthe Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic¹ called Bethesda,² which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and ^qparalyzed.³ 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, ^r“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 ^rAnd at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

^sNow that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews⁴ said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and ^tit is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for ^uJesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! ^vSin no more, ^wthat nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews ^xwere persecuting Jesus, ^ybecause he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

18 This was why the Jews ^zwere seeking all the more to kill him, ^abecause not only was he ^bbreaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God ^chis own Father, ^dmaking himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^ethe Son ^fcan do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father⁵ does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For ^gthe Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And ^hgreater works than these will he show him, so that ⁱyou may marvel. 21 For as the Father ^jraises the dead and ^kgives them life, so ^lalso the Son gives life ^mto whom he will. 22 ⁿFor the Father judges no one, but ^ohas given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they ^phonor the Father. ^qWhoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, ^rwhoever hears my word and ^sbelieves him who sent me has eternal life. He ^tdoes not come into judgment, but ^uhas passed from death to life.

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^van hour is coming, and is now here, when ^wthe dead will hear ^xthe voice of the Son of God, and those who hear ^wwill live. 26 ^yFor as the Father has life in himself, ^zso he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he ^ahas given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for ^van hour is coming when ^ball who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, ^cthose who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

30 ^d“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and ^emy judgment is just, because ^fI seek not my own will ^gbut the will of him who sent me. 31 ^hIf I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is ⁱanother who bears witness about me, and ^jI know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 ^kYou sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that ^lthe testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and ^mshining lamp, and ⁿyou were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But ^lthe testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For ^othe works that the Father has given me ^pto accomplish, the very works that I am doing, ^qbear witness about me that ^rthe Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me ^shas himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, ^this form you have never seen, 38 and ^uyou do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 ^vYou search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and ^wit is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet ^xyou refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 ^yI do not receive glory from people. 42 But ^zI know that you do not have ^athe love of God within you. 43 I have come ^bin my Father’s name, and ^cyou do not receive me. ^dIf another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and ^edo not seek the glory that comes from ^fthe only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, ^gon whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for ^hhe wrote of me. 47 But ⁱif you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem ⁿto have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because ^othey were not united by faith with those who listened.¹ 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: ^q“And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news ^sfailed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God² would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also ^urested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so ^vthat no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For ^wthe word of God is living and ^xactive, ^ysharper than any ^ztwo-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and ^adiscerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And ^bno creature is hidden from his sight, but all are ^cnaked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have ^da great high priest ^ewho has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, ^flet us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest ^gwho is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been ^dtempted as we are, ^hyet without sin. 16 ⁱLet us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.