The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

He was in the world, the world which came into being through him, but the world had no knowledge of him.

He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John gave testimony concerning Him and cried aloud, saying, "This is He of whom I said, 'He who is coming after me has been put before me,' for He was before me."

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God [i.e., His full splendor], but God, the only conceived [and eventually born Son], who is at the Father's side, has shown us who He is.

And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

So, they asked him, "Who then [are you]? Are you Elijah [i.e., returned from the dead]?" But he answered, "[No], I am not." "[Then], are you the prophet [i.e., Moses. See Deut. 18:15-19]?" they asked. And he answered, "No."

And they put this question to him, saying, Why then are you giving baptism if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the prophet?

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

He is to become my successor, because He has been put before me, and I am not fit to untie His shoestrings."

This is He about whom I said, 'After me is to come One who has been put before me, because He was before me.'

And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

But Jesus having turned, and seeing them following, says to them, What seek ye? And they said to him, Rabbi (which, being interpreted, signifies Teacher), where abidest thou?

Then He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So, they went and saw where He was staying and they stayed with Him that day. It was about ten o'clock in the morning. [Note: Hour designations in this book are being calculated by Roman time, but this would have been

[Then] on the next day He [i.e., Jesus, but some think it refers to Peter or Andrew] decided to travel into Galilee, [and there] He found Philip. Jesus said to Philip, "Become my follower."

Nathaniel replied to him, "Can anything worthwhile come from Nazareth?" [Note: Nazareth had a bad reputation and Jewish writings made no prediction of a prophet coming from that area. See John 7:52]. Philip answered him, "Come and see."

upon which his mother bid the servants do whatever he should order.

When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and let his glory be seen openly; and his disciples put their faith in him.

After that, descended he into Capernaum, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: But continued not many days there.

But the Jewish Passover was approaching, and for this Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

and having made a whip of small cords, he put all forth out of the temple, also the sheep, and the oxen; and of the money-changers he poured out the coins, and the tables he overthrew,

which put his disciples in mind of that passage, "my zeal for thine house does prey upon me."

Then the Jews put this question to him: What sign of authority have you to give us, seeing that you do these things?

And Jesus said to them, Send destruction on this Temple and I will put it up again in three days.

The Jews said, The building of this Temple took forty-six years; and you will put it up in three days!

But he spake of the temple of his body.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name [identifying themselves with Him] after seeing His signs (attesting miracles) which He was doing.

But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

But there was a man from among the Pharisees, his name Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, a person cannot see the kingdom of God [i.e., enter it. See verse 5], unless he is born from above [Note: The words "from above" are also used in verse 31, but in this place they could also mean "again," or "anew" and refer to the source of a person's second birth].

“But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

the cleansing of the body is only external, but the purification of the spirit is spiritual.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

“I assure you: We speak what We know and We testify to what We have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony.

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

But even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil.

For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and were being baptized—

For at this time John had not been put into prison.

John's answer was--"A man can gain nothing but what is given him from Heaven.

Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

The One who comes from above [i.e., Jesus] ranks over all [others]; but the one who is out of the earth [i.e., of human origin] is [merely] an earthly [being] and he speaks in earthly [ways]. [But] the One who comes from heaven [i.e., Jesus] ranks over all [others].

What He has seen and heard, to that He bears witness; but His testimony no one receives.

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]!

The Father has love for the Son and has put all things into his hands.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John??2 though it was not Jesus himself who baptized them, but his disciples??3 he left Judea and went back again to Galilee.

(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

but his disciples) He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.

But he had to pass through Samaria.

So he came to a town of Samaria which was named Sychar, near to the bit of land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph:

but the woman of Samaria said to him, how is it that you who are a Jew, ask drink of me, who am a Samaritan? (for the Jews have no friendly intercourse with the Samaritans.)

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem [at the temple].”

You give worship, but without knowledge of what you are worshipping: we give worship to what we have knowledge of: for salvation comes from the Jews.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

At that point the disciples came back, and they were surprised to see him talking to a woman; but not one of them said to him, What is your purpose? or, Why are you talking to her?

So the woman left her water pot, and went away into the city, and said to the people,

But meanwhile the disciples asked him saying, Rabbi, eat.

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

Do you not say, 'It wants four months yet to the harvest'? But look round, I tell you, and observe these plains-- they are already ripe for the sickle.

Already the person who is harvesting [the crop] is being paid for his work, and is gathering a crop for never ending life, so that the one planting and the one harvesting [the crop] may rejoice together.

I have sent you to reap a harvest which you have not labored to make. Other men have labored, but you have reaped the results of their labors."

But many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him because of the word of the woman who bore witness, He told me all things that I had ever done.

But far more came to believe in him on account of what he said himself,

And they said to the woman, Now we have faith, but not because of your story: we ourselves have given ear to his words, and we are certain that he is truly the Saviour of the world.

But after the two days he went forth thence and went away into Galilee,

but Jesus said to him, except you see signs and miracles, you will not believe.

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

But already, as he was going down, his servants met him and brought him word saying, Thy child lives.

So he put a question to them as to the hour when he became better; and they said to him, The disease went from him yesterday at the seventh hour.

For occasionally an angel descended into the pool, and put the water into commotion: he therefore who first stepped in after the commotion of the water became well, under whatever complaint he had laboured.

But there was a certain man there who had been suffering under his infirmity thirty and eight years.

The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

But he that was healed knew not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in the place.

And for this did the Jews persecute Jesus, and endeavoured to put Him to death; because He had done these things on the sabbath-day.

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: