On those who have accepted him, however, he has conferred the right of being children of God, that is, on those who believe in his Name,

who owe this birth of theirs to God, not to human blood, nor to any impulse of the flesh or of man.

(John testified to him with the cry, 'This was he of whom I said, my successor has taken precedence of me, for he preceded me.')

Nobody has ever seen God, but God has been unfolded by the divine One, the only Son, who lies upon the Father's breast.

Now here is John's testimony. When the Jews of Jerusalem despatched priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?"

"Then who are you?" they said; "tell us, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. What have you to say for yourself?"

He said, "I am the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'level the way for the Lord' ??as the prophet Isaiah said."

Now it was some of the Pharisees who had been sent to him;

"I am baptizing with water," John replied, "but my successor is among you, One whom you do not recognize,

Next day he observed Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, "Look, there is the lamb of God, who is to remove the sin of the world!

That is he of whom I said, 'The man who is to succeed me has taken precedence of me, for he preceded me.'

I myself did not recognize him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descending and resting, that is he who baptizes with the holy Spirit.'

One of the two men who heard what John said and went after Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Peter.

he met Nathanael and told him, "We have found him whom Moses wrote about in the Law, and also the prophets ??it is Jesus, the son of Joseph, who comes from Nazaret."

and when the manager of the feast tasted the water which had become wine, not knowing where it had come from (though the servants who had drawn it knew), he called the bridegroom

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who belonged to the Jewish authorities;

The wind blows where it wills; you can hear its sound, but you never know where it has come from or where it goes: it is the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

And yet the Son of man, descended from heaven, is the only one who has ever ascended into heaven.

that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

For God loved the world so dearly that he gave up his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life, instead of perishing.

He who believes in him is not sentenced; he who will not believe is sentenced already, for having refused to believe in the name of the only Son of God.

and they came and told John, "Rabbi, the man who was with you on the opposite side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore testimony ??here he is, baptizing, and everybody goes to him!"

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens to him, is heartily glad at the sound of the bridegroom's voice. Such is my joy, and it is complete.

He who comes from above is far above all others; he who springs from earth belongs to earth and speaks of earth; he who comes from heaven [is far above all others.

For he whom God has sent utters the words of God ??God gives him the Spirit in no sparing measure;

He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who disobeys the Son shall not see life ??God's anger broods over him."

Jesus answered, "If you knew what is the free gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him instead, and he would have given you 'living' water."

Jesus answered, "Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,

but anyone who drinks the water I shall give him will never thirst any more; the water I shall give him will turn into a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

you have had five husbands, and he whom you have now espoused is not your husband. That was a true word."

"I am messiah," said Jesus, "I who am talking to you."

"Come here, look at a man who has told me everything I ever did! Can he be the Christ?"

Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.

on reaching Galilee, he was welcomed by the Galileans, who had seen all he did at the festival in Jerusalem ??for they too had gone to the festival.

when he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went to him and begged him to come down and cure his son, who was at the point of death.

For an angel used to descend from time to time into the bath, and disturb the water; whereupon the first person who stepped in after the water was disturbed was restored to health, no matter what disease he had been afflicted with].

So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "This is the sabbath, you have no right to be carrying your mat."

He replied, "But the man who healed me, he told me, 'Lift your mat and walk'."

They questioned him, "Who was it that told you, 'Lift it and walk'?"

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for (owing to the crowd on the spot) Jesus had slipped away.

Off went the man and told the Jews it was Jesus who had healed him.

for as the Father raises the dead and makes them live, so the Son makes anyone live whom he chooses.

that all men may honour the Son as they honour the Father. (He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him.)

Truly, truly I tell you, he who listens to my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life; he will incur no sentence of judgment, he has already passed from death across to life.

Truly, truly I tell you, the time is coming, it has come already, when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live;

Do not wonder at this; for there is a time coming when all who are in the tombs will listen to his voice

I can do nothing of my own accord; I pass judgment on men as I am taught by God, and my judgment is just, because my aim is not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

The Father who sent me has also borne testimony to me himself; but his voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,

his word you have not kept with you, because you do not believe him whom he sent.

How can you believe, you who accept credit from one another instead of aiming at the credit which comes from the only God?

Do not imagine I am going to accuse you to the Father; Moses is your accuser, Moses who is your hope!

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to those who were reclining; so too with the fish, as much as they wanted.

Now when the people saw the Sign he had performed, they said, "This really is the Prophet who is to come into the world!"

Next day the crowd which had been left standing on the other side of the sea bethought them that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not gone aboard with his disciples, who had left by themselves.

Jesus replied to them, "This is the work of God, to believe in him whom God has sent."

Then said Jesus, "What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven ??33 for the bread of God is what comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will never be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty again.

All those will come to me who are the Father's gift to me, and never will I reject one of them;

for I have come down from heaven not to carry out my own will but the will of him who sent me,

and the will of him who sent me is that I lose none of those who are his gift to me, but that I raise them all up on the last day.

It is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should possess eternal life, and that I should raise him up on the last day."

No one is able to come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me (and I will raise him up on the last day).

In the prophets it is written, and they will be all instructed by God; everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him, comes to me.

Not that anyone has seen the Father ??he only, who is from God, he has seen the Father.

He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood possesses eternal life (and I will raise him up on the last day),

He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains within me, as I remain within him.

Just as the living Father sent me and I live by the Father, so he who feeds on me will also live by me.

Such is the bread which has come down from heaven: your ancestors ate their bread and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live for ever."

Now many of his disciples, on hearing it, said, "This is hard to take in! Who can listen to talk like this?"

And yet there are some of you who do not believe" (for Jesus knew from the very first who the unbelieving were, and who was to betray him;

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, who are we to go to? You have got words of eternal life,

for nobody who aims at public recognition ever keeps his actions secret. Since you can do these deeds, display yourself to the world"

Jesus told them in reply, "My teaching is not my own but his who sent me;

anyone who chooses to do his will, shall understand whether my teaching comes from God or whether I am talking on my own authority.

He who talks on his own authority aims at his own credit, but he who aims at the credit of the person who sent him, he is sincere, and there is no dishonesty in him.

The crowd replied, "You are mad. Who wants to kill you?"

So Jesus cried aloud, as he was teaching in the temple, "You know me? you know where I come from? But I have not come on my own initiative; I am sent, and sent by Him who is real. You do not know Him,

Then said Jesus, "I will be with you a little longer, then I go to Him who sent me;

he who believes in me ??out of his body, as scripture says, streams of living water will flow"

(he meant by this the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive: ??as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus had not been glorified yet).

Then the attendants went back to the high priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why have you not brought him with you?"

Nicodemus, one of their number (the same who had come to him before), said to them,

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of committing adultery, and making her stand forward

Then Jesus again addressed them, saying, "I am the light of the world: he who follows me will not walk in darkness, he will enjoy the light of life."

and though I do judge, my judgment is true, because I am not by myself ??there is myself and the Father who sent me.

I testify to myself, and the Father who sent me also testifies to me."

So I told you, you would die in your sins; for unless you believe who I am, you will die in your sins."

They said, "Who are you?" Jesus replied, "Why should I talk to you at all?

I have a great deal to say about you and many a judgment to pass upon you; but he who sent me is true, and so I tell the world what I have learned from him."

so Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, you will know then who I am, and that I do nothing of my own accord, but speak as the Father has taught me.

He who sent me is at my side; he has not left me alone; for I always do what pleases him."

So Jesus addressed the Jews who had believed him, saying, "If you abide by what I say, you are really disciples of mine:

Jesus replied, "Truly, truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave.

but now you want to kill me ??to kill a man who has told you the truth, the truth I have learned from God. Abraham did not do that.

He who belongs to God listens to the words of God; you do not listen to them, because you do not belong to God."

However, I do not aim at my own credit; there is One who cares for my credit, and he is judge.

Are you greater than our father Abraham? He is dead, and the prophets are dead. Who do you claim to be?"

Jesus replied, "Were I to glorify myself, my glory would be nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me; you say 'He is our God,'

As he passed along he saw a man who had been blind from his birth;

Whereupon the neighbours and those to whom he had been a familiar sight as a beggar, said, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"