All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being.

In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men.

This man came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe [in Christ, the Light] through him.

He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

He came to that which was His own [that which belonged to Him—His world, His creation, His possession], and those who were His own [people—the Jewish nation] did not receive and welcome Him.

But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—

John testified [repeatedly] about Him and has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’”

No one has seen God [His essence, His divine nature] at any time; the [One and] only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome wonder of the Father].

This is the testimony of John [the Baptist] when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the [promised] Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah]; but I came baptizing in water so that He would be [publicly] revealed to Israel.”

John gave [further] evidence [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.

I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah], but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this One is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

And Jesus turned and saw them following Him, and asked them, “What do you want?” They answered Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”

He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went [with Him] and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

He first looked for and found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means the Christ).

Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated Peter).”

The next day Jesus decided to go into Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher, and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about—Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph [according to public record].”

Nathanael answered him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor duplicity!”

Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do You know [these things about] me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were still under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Then He said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man [the bridge between heaven and earth].”

When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no more wine.”

Then He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter [of the banquet].” So they took it to him.

and said to him, “Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now.”

This, the first of His signs (attesting miracles), Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly], and His disciples believed [confidently] in Him [as the Messiah—they adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him].

who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”

so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].

“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.

Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].

But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”

So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi (Teacher), the Man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing]—and to whom you have testified—look, He is baptizing too, and everyone is going to Him!”

John replied, “A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God].

You yourselves are my witnesses that I stated, ‘I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ but, ‘I have [only] been sent ahead of Him [as His appointed forerunner and messenger to announce and proclaim His coming].’

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete.

For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaiming the Father’s own message]; for God gives the [gift of the] Spirit without measure [generously and boundlessly]!

He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually.”

Now He had to go through Samaria.

The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).”

She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with [no bucket and rope] and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?

But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not get thirsty nor [have to continually] come all the way here to draw.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that You are a prophet.

God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].”

Just then His disciples came, and they were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. However, no one said, “What are You asking about?” or, “Why are You talking to her?”

So the people left the city and were coming to Him.

Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus [to have a meal], saying, “Rabbi (Teacher), eat.”

So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.

Now many Samaritans from that city believed in Him and trusted Him [as Savior] because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked Him to remain with them; and He stayed there two days.

Many more believed in Him [with a deep, abiding trust] because of His word [His personal message to them];

and they told the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world.”

So when He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him, since they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they too came to the feast.

Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to meet Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you [people] see [miraculous] signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe.”

The royal official pleaded with Him, “Sir, do come down [at once] before my child dies!”

Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives!” The man believed what Jesus said to him and started home.

As he was already going down [the road], his servants met him and reported that his son was living [and was healthy].

So he asked them at what time he began to get better. They said, “Yesterday during the seventh hour the fever left him.”

Then the father realized that it was at that very hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son lives”; and he and his entire household believed and confidently trusted [in Him as Savior].

When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

Jesus said to him, “Get up; pick up your pallet and walk.”

They asked him, “Who is the Man who told you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?”

Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

For this reason the Jews began to persecute Jesus continually because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.

This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him, for not only was He breaking the Sabbath [from their viewpoint], but He was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be filled with wonder.

so that all will give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who has sent Him.

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins—the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life.

And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is a Son of Man [sinless humanity, qualifying Him to sit in judgment over mankind].

And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form [His majesty and greatness—what He is like].

You do not have His word (Scripture) abiding in you [actually living in your hearts and minds], because you do not believe in Him whom He has sent.

I have come in My Father’s name and with His power, and you do not receive Me [because your minds are closed]; but if another comes in his own name and with no authority or power except his own, you will receive him and give your approval to an imposter.

How can you believe [in Me], when you [seek and] receive glory and approval from one another, and yet you do not seek the glory and approval which comes from the one and only God?

A large crowd was following Him because they had seen the signs (attesting miracles) which He continually performed on those who were sick.

Jesus looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming toward Him, and He said to Philip, “Where will we buy bread for these people to eat?”

But He said this to test Philip, because He knew what He was about to do.

Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii (200 days’ wages) worth of bread is not enough for each one to receive even a little.”

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

“There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?”

Then Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountainside by Himself.

Then they were willing to take Him on board the boat, and immediately the boat reached the [shore of the] land to which they were going.

And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures [and leads] to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for God the Father has authorized Him and put His seal on Him.”

So they said to Him, “What sign (attesting miracle) will You do that we may see it and believe You? What [supernatural] work will You do [as proof]?

Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but that I [give new life and] raise it up at the last day.