The Prologue to John’s Gospel

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that[a] has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.[b] And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome[c] it.

A man came, sent from God, whose name was[d] John. This one came for a witness, in order that he could testify about the light, so that all would believe through him. That one was not the light, but came[e] in order that he could testify about the light. The true light, who gives light to every person, was coming into the world.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. John 1:3 Or “came into being. What …,” beginning a new sentence connected with the following verse. A major punctuation problem is involved, since the earliest manuscripts have no punctuation, but some important later ones place the punctuation before this phrase, effectively connecting it to v. 4: “What has come into being was life in him”
  2. John 1:4 Or “humankind”
  3. John 1:5 Or “comprehend” (if primarily referring to people in the world)
  4. John 1:6 Literally “the name to him”
  5. John 1:8 The verb is implied from the previous verse, and must be supplied in the English translation