The Word of Life
1 In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God. 3 Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. 4 The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.
6 God sent his messenger, a man named John, 7 who came to tell people about the light, so that all should hear the message and believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. 9 This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.
10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. 12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. 13 They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.
14 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.
15 John spoke about him. He cried out, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.’”
16 Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. 17 God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
John the Baptist's Message
(Matthew 3.1-12Mark 1.1-8Luke 3.1-18)19 The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 John did not refuse to answer, but spoke out openly and clearly, saying: “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No, I am not,” John answered.
“Are you the Prophet?” they asked.
“No,” he replied.
22 “Then tell us who you are,” they said. “We have to take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah:
“I am ‘the voice of someone shouting in the desert:
Make a straight path for the Lord to travel!’”
24 The messengers, who had been sent by the Pharisees, 25 then asked John, “If you are not the Messiah nor Elijah nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”
26 John answered, “I baptize with water, but among you stands the one you do not know. 27 He is coming after me, but I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.”
28 All this happened in Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.’ 31 I did not know who he would be, but I came baptizing with water in order to make him known to the people of Israel.”
32 And John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I still did not know that he was the one, but God, who sent me to baptize with water, had said to me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and stay on a man; he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen it,” said John, “and I tell you that he is the Son of God.”
The First Disciples of Jesus
35 The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples, 36 when he saw Jesus walking by. “There is the Lamb of God!” he said.
37 The two disciples heard him say this and went with Jesus. 38 Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, “What are you looking for?”
They answered, “Where do you live, Rabbi?” (This word means “Teacher.”)
39 “Come and see,” he answered. (It was then about four o'clock in the afternoon.) So they went with him and saw where he lived, and spent the rest of that day with him.
40 One of them was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 At once he found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” (This word means “Christ.”) 42 Then he took Simon to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “Your name is Simon son of John, but you will be called Cephas.” (This is the same as Peter and means “a rock.”)
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come with me!” ( 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter lived.) 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
46 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” answered Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, “Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!”
48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 “Teacher,” answered Nathanael, “you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus said, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than this!” 51 And he said to them, “I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”
كلمة اللهِ
1 في البَدْءِ كانَ الكَلِمَةُ،
والكَلِمَةُ كانَ عِندَ اللهِ،
وكانَ الكَلِمَةُ اللهَ.
2 هوَ في البَدْءِ كانَ عِندَ اللهِ.
3 بِه كانَ كُلّ شيءٍ،
وبِغَيرِهِ ما كانَ شيءٌ مِمّا كانَ.
4 فيهِ كانَتِ الحياةُ،
وحياتُهُ كانَت نُورَ النّاسِ.
5 والنّورُ يُشرِقُ في الظّلْمَةِ،
والظّلْمَةُ لا تَقوى علَيهِ.
6 ظهَرَ رَسولٌ مِنَ اللهِ اَسمُهُ يوحنّا.
7 جاءَ يَشهَدُ لِلنّورِ حتى يُؤمنَ النّاسُ على يدهِ.
8 ما كانَ هوَ النّورَ،
بل شاهدًا لِلنّورِ.
9 الكَلِمَةُ هوَ النّورُ الحَقّ،
جاءَ إلى العالَمِ لِـيُنيرَ كُلّ إنسانٍ.
10 وكانَ في العالَمِ،
وبِه كانَ العالَمُ،
وما عَرَفَهُ العالَمُ.
11 إلى بَيتِهِ جاءَ،
فما قَبِلَه أهلُ بَيتِه.
12 أمّا الذينَ قَبِلوهُ، المُؤمِنونَ باَسمِهِ، فأعطاهُم سُلطانًا أنْ يَصيروا أبناءَ اللهِ،
13 وهُمُ الذينَ وُلِدوا لا مِنْ دَمٍ
ولا مِنْ رَغبَةِ جسَدٍ
ولا مِنْ رَغبَةِ رَجُلٍ،
بل مِنَ اللهِ.
14 والكَلِمَةُ صارَ بشَرًا وعاشَ بَينَنا،
فرأَينا مَجدَهُ
مَجدًا يَفيضُ بِالنّعمَةِ والحَقّ،
نالَهُ مِنَ الآبِ،
كاَبْنٍ لَهُ أوحَدَ.
15 شَهِدَ لَهُ يوحنّا فنادى:
«هذا هوَ الذي قُلتُ فيهِ:
يَجيءُ بَعدي ويكونُ أعظَمَ مِنّي،
لأنّهُ كانَ قَبْلي».
16 مِنْ فيضِ نِعَمِهِ نِلْنا جميعًا
نِعمةً على نِعمةٍ،
17 لأنّ اللهَ بِموسى أعطانا الشريعةَ،
وأمّا بِـيَسوعَ المسيحِ فوَهَبَنا النّعمَةَ والحقّ.
18 ما مِنْ أحدٍ رأى اللهَ.
الإلهُ الأوحَدُ الذي في حِضنِ الآبِ
هوَ الذي أخبَرَ عَنهُ.
شهادة يوحنا المعمدان
(متى 3:1-12، مرقس 1:2-8، لوقا 3:15-17)19 هذِهِ شَهادةُ يوحنّا، حينَ أرسَلَ إلَيهِ اليَهودُ مِنْ أُورُشليمَ كَهنَةً ولاويّـينَ ليسألوهُ: «مَنْ أنتَ؟» 20 فاَعتَرَفَ وما أنكَرَ، اَعتَرَفَ قالَ: «ما أنا المَسيحُ». 21 فقالوا: «مَنْ أنتَ، إذًا؟ هل أنتَ إيليّا؟»
قالَ: «ولا إيليّا». قالوا: «هل أنتَ النّبـيّ؟» أجابَ: «لا». 22 فقالوا لَه: «مَنْ أنتَ، فنَحمِلَ الجَوابَ إلى الذينَ أرسَلونا. ماذا تقولُ عَنْ نَفسِكَ؟» 23 قالَ: «أنا، كما قالَ النّبـيّ إشَعيا:
صوتُ صارخٍ في البرّيّةِ:
قَوّموا طريقَ الرّبّ».
24 وكانَ بَينَهُم فَرّيسيّونَ، 25 فقالوا ليوحنّا: «كيفَ تُعَمّدُ وما أنتَ المَسيحُ ولا إيليّا ولا النّبـيّ؟» 26 أجابَهُم: «أنا أعمّدُ بالماءِ، وبَينَكم مَنْ لا تَعرِفونَهُ. 27 هوَ الذي يَجيءُ بَعدي، ويكونُ أعظَمَ مِنّي، وما أنا أهلٌ لأنْ أحُلّ رِباطَ حِذائِهِ».
28 جرى هذا كُلّهُ في بَيت عَنيا، عَبرَ نهرِ الأُردُنِ، حيثُ كانَ يوحنّا يُعمّدُ.
يسوع حمل اللهِ
29 وفي الغَدِ رأى يوحنّا يَسوعَ مُقبِلاً إلَيهِ، فقالَ: «ها هوَ حمَلُ اللهِ الذي يرفَعُ خَطيئةَ العالَمِ. 30 هذا هوَ الذي قُلتُ فيهِ: يَجيءُ بَعدي رَجُلٌ صارَ أعظَمَ مِنّي، لأنّهُ كانَ قَبلي. 31 وما كُنتُ أعرِفُهُ، فَجِئتُ أُعَمّدُ بالماءِ حتى يَظهرَ لإسرائيلَ».
32 وشَهِدَ يوحنّا، قالَ: «رأيتُ الرّوحَ يَنزِلُ مِنَ السّماءِ مِثْلَ حمامةٍ ويَستَقِرّ علَيهِ. 33 وما كُنتُ أعرِفُهُ، لكنّ الذي أرسَلَني لأُعَمّدَ بِالماءِ قالَ لي: «الذي ترى الرّوحَ ينزِلُ ويَستَقِرّ علَيهِ هوَ الذي سَيُعَمّدُ بالرّوحِ القُدُسِ. 34 وأنا رأيتُ وشَهِدتُ أنّهُ هوَ اَبنُ اللهِ».
تلاميذ يسوع الأولون
35 وكانَ يوحنّا في الغدِ واقِفًا هُناكَ، ومعَهُ اَثنانِ مِنْ تلاميذِهِ. 36 فنظَرَ إلى يَسوعَ وهوَ مارّ وقالَ: «ها هوَ حمَلُ اللهِ». 37 فسَمِعَ التلميذانِ كلامَهُ، فتَبِعا يَسوعَ. 38 واَلتَفتَ يَسوعُ فرآهُما يَتبَعانِهِ، فقالَ لهُما: «ماذا تُريدانِ؟» قالا: «رابـي (أي يا مُعَلّمُ) أينَ تُقِـيمُ؟» 39 قالَ: «تَعالا واَنظرا». فذَهَبا ونَظرا أينَ يُقيمُ، فأقاما معَهُ ذلِكَ اليوم، وكانَتِ السّاعةُ نحوَ الرّابعةِ بَعدَ الظّهرِ.
40 وكانَ أندَراوسُ أخو سِمعانَ بُطرُسَ أحدَ التّلميذَينِ اللذَينِ سَمِعا كلامَ يوحنّا فتَبِعا يَسوعَ. 41 ولَقِـيَ أندراوُسُ أخاهُ سِمعانَ، فقالَ لَهُ: «وجَدْنا المَسيّا»، أيِ المَسيحَ. 42 وجاءَ بِه إلى يَسوعَ، فنظَرَ إلَيهِ يَسوعُ وقالَ: «أنتَ سِمعانُ بنُ يوحنّا، وسأدْعوكَ «كِيفا» (أي صَخرًا)».
يسوع يدعو فيلبس ونثنائيل
43 وأرادَ يَسوعُ في الغدِ أنْ يذهَبَ إلى الجَليلِ. فلَقِـيَ فِـيلُبّسَ، فقالَ لَه: «إتبَعْني». 44 وكانَ فِـيلبّسُ مِنْ بَيت صيدا، مدينةِ أندَراوُسَ وبُطرُسَ. 45 ولَقِـيَ فِـيلبّسُ نَثَنائِيلَ، فقالَ لَه: «وجَدْنا الذي ذكرَهُ موسى في الشّريعةِ، والأنبـياءُ في الكُتُبِ، وهوَ يَسوعُ اَبنُ يوسفَ مِنَ النّاصِرَةِ». 46 فقالَ لَه نَثَنائيلُ: «أمنَ النّاصرةِ يَخرُجُ شيءٌ صالِـحٌ؟» فأجابَهُ فِـيلبّسُ: «تَعالَ واَنظُرْ». 47 ورأى يَسوعُ نَثَنائيلَ مُقْبلاً إلَيهِ فقالَ: «هذا إِسرائيليّ صَميمٌ لا شَكّ فيهِ!» 48 فقالَ لَه نَثَنائيلُ: «كيفَ عَرَفتَني؟» فأجابَه يَسوعُ: «رأيتُكَ تَحتَ التّينةِ قَبلَما دَعاكَ فِـيلبّسُ». 49 فقالَ نَثَنائيلُ: «أنتَ يا مُعَلّمُ اَبنُ اللهِ. أنتَ مَلِكُ إِسرائيلَ!» 50 فأجابَه يَسوعُ: «هل آمنتَ لأنّي قُلتُ لكَ: رأيتُكَ تَحتَ التّينةِ؟ ستَرى أعظمَ مِنْ هذا». 51 وقالَ لَه: «الحقّ أقولُ لكُم: سَترَونَ السّماءَ مَفتوحةً ومَلائِكةَ اللهِ صاعِدينَ نازِلينَ على اَبنِ الإنسانِ».