There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

He came as a witness, in order that he might give testimony concerning the Light--so that all might believe through him.

But all who have received Him, to them--that is, to those who trust in His name--He has given the privilege of becoming children of God;

who were begotten as such not by human descent, nor through an impulse of their own nature, nor through the will of a human father, but from God.

And the Word came in the flesh, and lived for a time in our midst, so that we saw His glory--the glory as of the Father's only Son, sent from His presence. He was full of grace and truth.

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 He it is from whose fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

No human eye has ever seen God: the only Son, who is in the Father's bosom--He has made Him known.

This also is John's testimony, when the Jews sent to him a deputation of Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him who he was.

So they pressed the question. "Who are you?" they said--"that we may take an answer to those who sent us. What account do you give of yourself?"

"I am the voice," he replied, "of one crying aloud, 'Make straight the Lord's way in the Desert,' fulfilling the words of the Prophet Isaiah."

He who is to come after me, and whose sandal-strap I am not worthy to unfasten."

The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, "Look, that is the Lamb of God who is to take away the sin of the world!

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

I did not yet know Him; but that He may be openly shown to Israel is the reason why I have come baptizing in water."

I did not yet know Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, "'The One on whom you see the Spirit coming down, and remaining, He it is who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'

"This I have seen, and I have become a witness that He is the Son of God."

when he saw Jesus passing by, and said, "Look! that is the Lamb of God!"

Then Jesus turned round, and seeing them following He asked them, "What is your wish?" "Rabbi," they replied--'Rabbi' means 'Teacher' --"where are you staying?"

He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" --that is to say, the Anointed One.

He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John: you shall be called Cephas" --that is to say, Peter (or 'Rock')

(Now Philip came from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.)

Then Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the Law wrote, as well as the Prophets--Jesus, the son of Joseph, a man of Nazareth."

Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, and said of him, "Look! here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceitfulness!"

and said to him, "It is usual to put on the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then that which is inferior. But you have kept the good wine till now."

So the Jews asked Him, "What proof of your authority do you exhibit to us, seeing that you do these things?"

Now there was one of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus--a ruler among the Jews.

He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these miracles which you are doing, unless God is with him.

"In most solemn truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the Kingdom of God."

"How is it possible," Nicodemus asked, "for a man to be born when he is old? Can he a second time enter his mother's womb and be born?"

"In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit.

The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is it with every one who has been born of the Spirit."

"How is all this possible?" asked Nicodemus.

There is no one who has gone up to Heaven, but there is One who has come down from Heaven, namely the Son of Man whose home is in Heaven.

And just as Moses lifted high the serpent in the Desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

And this is the test by which men are judged--the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked.

But he who does what is honest and right comes to the light, in order that his actions may be plainly shown to have been done in God.

As the result, a discussion having arisen on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification,

they came to John and reported to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you on the other side of the Jordan and to whom you bore testimony is now baptizing, and great numbers of people are resorting to him."

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; and the bridegroom's friend who stands by his side and listens to him, rejoices heartily on account of the bridegroom's happiness. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

He who comes from above is above all. He whose origin is from the earth is not only himself from the earth, his teaching also is from the earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all.

Any man who has received His testimony has solemnly declared that God is true.

Now as soon as the Master was aware that the Pharisees had heard it said, "Jesus is gaining and baptizing more disciples than John"--

"How is it," replied the woman, "that a Jew like you asks me, who am a woman and a Samaritan, for water?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

"If you had known God's free gift," replied Jesus, "and who it is that said to you, 'Give me some water,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

"Sir," she said, "you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; so where can you get the living water from?

Are you greater than our forefather Jacob, who gave us the well, and himself drank from it, as did also his sons and his cattle?"

"for you have had five husbands, and the man you have at present is not your husband. You have spoken the truth in saying that."

Our forefathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem."

"Believe me," said Jesus, "the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

But a time is coming--nay, has already come--when the true worshippers will worship the Father with true spiritual worship; for indeed the Father desires such worshippers.

God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must bring Him true spiritual worship."

"I know," replied the woman, "that Messiah is coming--'the Christ,' as He is called. When He has come, He will tell us everything."

Just then His disciples came, and were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. Yet not one of them asked Him, "What is your wish?" or "Why are you talking with her?"

"My food," said Jesus, "is to be obedient to Him who sent me, and fully to accomplish His work.

For it is in this that you see the real meaning of the saying, 'The sower is one person, and the reaper is another.'

I sent you to reap a harvest which is not the result of your own labours. Others have laboured, and you are getting benefit from their labours."

and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe in Him simply because of your statements; for we have now heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world."

So He came once more to Cana in Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. Now there was a certain officer of the King's court whose son was ill at Capernaum.

This is the second miracle that Jesus performed, after coming from Judaea into Galilee.

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, called in Hebrew 'Bethesda.' It has five arcades.

"Sir," replied the sufferer, "I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is moved; but while I am coming some one else steps down before me."

That day was a Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the Sabbath: you must not carry your mat."

"Who is it," they asked, "that said to you, 'Take up your mat and walk'?"

On this account then the Jews were all the more eager to put Him to death--because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also spoke of God as being in a special sense His Father, thus putting Himself on a level with God.

For the Father loves the Son and reveals to Him all that He Himself is doing. And greater deeds than these will He reveal to Him, in order that you may wonder.

For just as the Father awakens the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom He wills.

that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. The man who withholds honour from the Son withholds honour from the Father who sent Him.

"In most solemn truth I tell you that a time is coming--nay, has already come--when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live.

For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has also given to the Son to have life in Himself.

And He has conferred on Him authority to act as Judge, because He is the Son of Man.

Wonder not at this. For a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and will come forth--

they who have done what is right to the resurrection of Life, and they whose actions have been evil to the resurrection of judgement.

"I can of my own self do nothing. As I am bidden, so I judge; and mine is a just judgement, because it is not my own will that guides me, but the will of Him who sent me.

There is Another who gives testimony concerning me, and I know that the testimony is true which He offers concerning me.

"You sent to John, and he both was and still is a witness to the truth.

But the testimony on my behalf which I accept is not from man; though I say all this in order that you may be saved.

"But the testimony which I have is weightier than that of John; for the work the Father has assigned to me for me to bring it to completion--the very work which I am doing--affords testimony concerning me that the Father has sent me.

And the Father who sent me, *He* has given testimony concerning me. None of you have ever either heard His voice or seen what He is like.

"You search the Scriptures, because you suppose that in them you will find the Life of the Ages; and it is those Scriptures that yield testimony concerning me;

I have come as my Father's representative, and you do not receive me. If some one else comes representing only himself, him you will receive.

How is it possible for you to believe, while you receive glory from one another and have no desire for the glory that comes from the only God?

"Do not suppose that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, namely Moses, on whom your hope rests.

After this Jesus went away across the Lake of Galilee (that is, the Lake of Tiberias)

"Seven pounds' worth of bread," replied Philip, "is not enough for them all to get even a scanty meal."

"There is a boy here with five barley loaves and a couple of fish: but what is that among so many?"

Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were resting on the ground; and also the fish in like manner--as much as they desired.

Thereupon the people, having seen the miracle He had performed, said, "This is indeed the Prophet who was to come into the world."

They were terrified; but He called to them. "It is I," He said, "do not be afraid."

"This," replied Jesus, "is above all the thing that God requires--that you should be believers in Him whom He has sent."

"What miracle then," they asked, "do you perform for us to see and become believers in you? What do you *do*?

Our forefathers ate the manna in the Desert, as it is written, 'He gave them bread out of Heaven to eat'."

"In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that Moses did not give you the bread out of Heaven, but my Father is giving you the bread--the true bread--out of Heaven.

For God's bread is that which comes down out of Heaven and gives Life to the world."

"Sir," they said, "always give us that bread."

But it is as I have said to you: you have seen me and yet you do not believe.

And this is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it to life on the last day.

For this is my Father's will, that every one who fixes his gaze on the Son of God and believes in Him should have the Life of the Ages, and I will raise him to life on the last day."

They kept asking, "Is not this man Joseph's son? Is he not Jesus, whose father and mother we know? What does he mean by now saying, 'I have come down out of Heaven'?"