ቃል ሥጋ ሆነ
1በመጀመሪያ ቃል ነበረ፤ ቃልም ከእግዚአብሔር ጋር ነበረ፤ ቃልም እግዚአብሔር ነበረ። 2እርሱም በመጀመሪያ ከእግዚአብሔር ጋር ነበረ።
3ሁሉ ነገር በእርሱ ተፈጥሯል፤ ከተፈጠረው ሁሉ ያለ እርሱ የተፈጠረ ምንም የለም። 4ሕይወት በእርሱ ነበረች፤ ይህች ሕይወት የሰው ብርሃን ነበረች። 5ብርሃንም በጨለማ ያበራል፤ ጨለማውም አላሸነፈውም።1፥5 ወይም ጨለማው ግን አላወቀውም
6ከእግዚአብሔር የተላከ ዮሐንስ የተባለ አንድ ሰው ነበረ። 7ሰዎች ሁሉ በእርሱ በኩል እንዲያምኑ፣ ስለ ብርሃን ምስክር ሆኖ ለመቆም መጣ፤ 8ስለ ብርሃን ሊመሰክር መጣ እንጂ እርሱ ራሱ ብርሃን አልነበረም። 9ለሰው ሁሉ ብርሃን ሰጭ የሆነው እውነተኛው ብርሃን ወደ ዓለም እየመጣ ነበር።1፥9 ወይም ይህ ወደ ዓለም ለሚመጣ ሰው ብርሃን የሚሰጥ እውነተኛው ብርሃን ነበረ
10እርሱ በዓለም ውስጥ ነበረ፤ ዓለም የተፈጠረው በእርሱ ቢሆንም እንኳ፣ ዓለም አላወቀውም። 11ወደ ራሱ ወገኖች መጣ፤ የገዛ ወገኖቹ ግን አልተቀበሉትም፤ 12ለተቀበሉትና በስሙ ላመኑት ሁሉ ግን የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች የመሆን መብት ሰጣቸው። 13እነዚህም ከእግዚአብሔር ተወለዱ እንጂ፣ ከደም1፥13 ወይም ከሰው ውሳኔ ወይም ከሥጋ ፈቃድ ወይም ከወንድ ፈቃድ አልተወለዱም።
14ቃልም ሥጋ ሆነ፤ በመካከላችንም ዐደረ፤ እኛም ጸጋንና እውነትን ተሞልቶ ከአባቱ ዘንድ የመጣውን የአንድያ1፥14 ወይም አንድ ልጁ የሆነው ልጅን ክብር አየን።
15ዮሐንስም፣ “ ‘ከእኔ በኋላ የሚመጣው ከእኔ በፊት ስለ ነበረ ከእኔ ይልቃል’ ብዬ የመሰከርሁለት እርሱ ነው” በማለት ጮኾ ስለ እርሱ መሰከረ። 16ከእርሱ ሙላት ሁላችንም በጸጋ ላይ ጸጋ ተቀብለናል፤ 17ሕግ በሙሴ በኩል ተሰጥቶ ነበር፤ ጸጋና እውነት ግን በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በኩል መጣ። 18ከቶውንም እግዚአብሔርን ያየ ማንም የለም፤ ነገር ግን በአብ ዕቅፍ ያለው አንድያ ልጁ1፥18 አንዳንድ ቅጆች አንድ ልጁ ይላሉ። የሆነው አምላክ እርሱ ገለጠው።
መጥምቁ ዮሐንስ ራሱ ክርስቶስ እንዳልሆነ ተናገረ
19አይሁድ፣ ማንነቱን እንዲጠይቁት ካህናትንና ሌዋውያንን ከኢየሩሳሌም ወደ እርሱ ሲልኩ፣ ዮሐንስ የሰጠው ምስክርነት ይህ ነበር።
20ከመመስከርም ወደ ኋላ አላለም፤ “እኔ ክርስቶስ1፥20 ወይም መሲሕ በግሪኩ፣ ክርስቶስ እና በዕብራይስጡ፣ መሲሕ፣ ሁለቱም የተቀባ የሚል ትርጕም አላቸው፤ 25 ይመ አይደለሁም፤” ብሎ በግልጽ መሰከረ።
21እነርሱም፣ “ታዲያ አንተ ማን ነህ? ኤልያስ ነህ?” ብለው ጠየቁት።
እርሱም፣ “አይደለሁም” አለ።
እነርሱም፣ “ታዲያ ነቢዩ ነህ?” አሉት።
እርሱም፣ “አይደለሁም” ሲል መለሰ።
22በመጨረሻም፣ “እንግዲያስ ማን ነህ? ለላኩን ሰዎች መልስ እንድንሰጥ ስለ ራስህ ምን ትላለህ?” አሉት።
23ዮሐንስም በነቢዩ በኢሳይያስ እንደ ተነገረው፣ “ ‘ለጌታ መንገድ አቅኑለት’ እያለ በምድረ በዳ የሚጮኽ ድምፅ እኔ ነኝ” ሲል መለሰ።
24ከተላኩትም ፈሪሳውያን አንዳንዶቹ፣ 25“ታዲያ፣ ክርስቶስ ወይም ኤልያስ ወይም ነቢዩ ካልሆንህ፤ ለምን ታጠምቃለህ?” ብለው ጠየቁት።
26ዮሐንስም እንዲህ ብሎ መለሰላቸው፤ “እኔ በውሃ1፥26 ወይም በውሃ ውስጥ 31 እና 33 ይመ አጠምቃለሁ፤ እናንተ የማታውቁት ግን በመካከላችሁ ቆሟል፤ 27ከእኔ በኋላ የሚመጣው፣ የጫማውን ማሰሪያ ለመፍታት እንኳ የማልበቃ እርሱ ነው።”
28ይህ ሁሉ የሆነው ዮሐንስ ሲያጠምቅ በነበረበት ከዮርዳኖስ ማዶ በቢታንያ ነበር።
የእግዚአብሔር በግ
29ዮሐንስ በማግስቱም፣ ኢየሱስ ወደ እርሱ ሲመጣ አይቶ እንዲህ አለ፤ “እነሆ! የዓለምን ኀጢአት የሚያስወግድ የእግዚአብሔር በግ፤ 30‘ከእኔ በኋላ የሚመጣው ከእኔ በፊት ስለ ነበር ከእኔ ይልቃል’ ያልሁት እርሱ ነው፤ 31እኔ ራሴ አላወቅሁትም ነበር፤ በውሃ እያጠመቅሁ የመጣሁትም እርሱ በእስራኤል ዘንድ እንዲገለጥ ነው።”
32ከዚያም ዮሐንስ እንዲህ ሲል ምስክርነቱን ሰጠ፤ “መንፈስ እንደ ርግብ ከሰማይ ወርዶ በእርሱ ላይ ሲያርፍ አየሁ፤ 33በውሃ እንዳጠምቅ የላከኝም፣ ‘በመንፈስ ቅዱስ የሚያጠምቀው፣ መንፈስ ሲወርድና በእርሱ ላይ ሲያርፍ የምታየው እርሱ ነው’ ብሎ እስከ ነገረኝ ድረስ እኔም አላወቅሁትም ነበር፤ 34አይቻለሁ፣ እርሱ የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ እንደ ሆነ እመሰክራለሁ።”
የመጀመሪያዎቹ የኢየሱስ ደቀ መዛሙርት
1፥40-42 ተጓ ምብ – ማቴ 4፥18-22፤ ማር 1፥16-20፤ ሉቃ 5፥2-11
35በማግስቱም፣ ዮሐንስ ከሁለቱ ደቀ መዛሙርቱ ጋር እንደ ገና እዚያው ቦታ ነበር፤ 36ኢየሱስንም በዚያ ሲያልፍ አይቶ፣ “እነሆ፤ የእግዚአብሔር በግ!” አለ።
37ሁለቱ ደቀ መዛሙርትም ይህን ሲናገር ሰምተው ኢየሱስን ተከተሉት። 38ኢየሱስም ዘወር ብሎ ሲከተሉት አየና፣ “ምን ትፈልጋላችሁ?” ብሎ ጠየቃቸው።
እነርሱም፣ “ረቢ፣ የት ትኖራለህ?” አሉት፤ “ረቢ” ማለት መምህር ማለት ነው።
39እርሱም፣ “ኑና እዩ” አላቸው።
ስለዚህ ሄደው የት እንደሚኖር አዩ፤ በዚያም ዕለት አብረውት ዋሉ፤ ከቀኑም ዐሥር ሰዓት ያህል ነበር።
40ዮሐንስ የተናገረውን ሰምተው፣ ኢየሱስን ከተከተሉት ከሁለቱ አንዱ የስምዖን ጴጥሮስ ወንድም እንድርያስ ነበር። 41እንድርያስ በመጀመሪያ ያደረገው ወንድሙን ስምዖንን ፈልጎ፣ “መሲሑን አገኘነው” ብሎ መንገር ነው፤ “መሲሕ” ማለት ክርስቶስ ማለት ነው። 42ወደ ኢየሱስም አመጣው።
ኢየሱስም ተመለከተውና፣ “አንተ የዮና ልጅ ስምዖን ነህ፤ ኬፋ ተብለህ ትጠራለህ” አለው፤ “ኬፋ” ማለት ጴጥሮስ ማለት ነው።1፥42 ኬፋ የሚለው የአራማይክ ቃልና ጴጥሮስ የሚለው የግሪኩ ቃል ትርጕም ዐለት ማለት ነው።
ኢየሱስ ፊልጶስንና ናትናኤልን ጠራቸው
43በማግስቱም፣ ኢየሱስ ወደ ገሊላ ለመሄድ ፈለገ፤ ፊልጶስንም አግኝቶ፣ “ተከተለኝ” አለው።
44ፊልጶስም እንደ እንድርያስና እንደ ጴጥሮስ ሁሉ የቤተ ሳይዳ ከተማ ሰው ነበረ። 45ፊልጶስ ናትናኤልን አግኝቶ፣ “ሙሴ በሕግ መጻሕፍት፣ ነቢያትም ስለ እርሱ የጻፉለትን የዮሴፍን ልጅ የናዝሬቱ ኢየሱስን አግኝተነዋል” አለው።
46ናትናኤልም፣ “ከናዝሬት በጎ ነገር ሊወጣ ይችላልን?” አለ።
ፊልጶስም፣ “መጥተህ እይ” አለው።
47ኢየሱስም፣ ናትናኤል ወደ እርሱ ሲመጣ አይቶ፣ “እነሆ፤ ተንኰል የሌለበት እውነተኛ እስራኤላዊ” አለ።
48ናትናኤልም “እንዴት ዐወቅኸኝ?” ሲል ጠየቀው።
ኢየሱስም፣ “ከበለስ ዛፍ ሥር ሳለህ፣ ገና ፊልጶስ ሳይጠራህ አየሁህ” ሲል መለሰለት።
49ናትናኤልም መልሶ፣ “ረቢ አንተ የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ ነህ፤ አንተ የእስራኤል ንጉሥ ነህ” አለ።
50ኢየሱስም፣ “ያመንኸው ከበለስ ዛፍ ሥር አየሁህ ስላልሁህ ነውን?1፥50 ወይም ከበለስ ዛፍ ሥር አየሁህ ስላልሁህ አመንህ? ገና ከዚህ የሚበልጥ ነገር ታያለህ” አለው፤ 51ጨምሮም፣ “እውነት እላችኋለሁ፣ ሰማይ ተከፍቶ፣ የእግዚአብሔርም መላእክት በሰው ልጅ ላይ ሲወጡና ሲወርዱ ታያላችሁ” አለው።
The Word Became a Human Being
1In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. 4Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. 5The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.
6There was a man sent from God. His name was John. 7He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe. 8John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.
9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. 11He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him. 12Some people did accept him and did believe in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. 13To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.
14The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth.
15John was a witness about the Word. John cried out and said, “This was the one I was talking about. I said, ‘He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ” 16God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given. 17In the past, God gave us grace through the law of Moses. Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.
John the Baptist Says That He Is Not the Messiah
19The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John spoke the truth to them. 20He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet we’ve been expecting?” they asked.
“No,” he answered.
22They asked one last time, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, “I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight.’ ” (Isaiah 40:3)
24The Pharisees who had been sent 25asked him, “If you are not the Messiah, why are you baptizing people? Why are you doing that if you aren’t Elijah or the Prophet we’ve been expecting?”
26“I baptize people with water,” John replied. “But someone is standing among you whom you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. That was where John was baptizing.
What John Says About Jesus
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I was talking about. I said, ‘A man who comes after me is more important than I am. That’s because he existed before I was born.’ 31I did not know him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That’s the reason I came baptizing with water.”
32Then John told them, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus. 33I myself did not know him. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen it happen. I am a witness that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36He saw Jesus walking by. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him say this. So they followed Jesus. 38Then Jesus turned around and saw them following. He asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Rabbi means Teacher.
39“Come,” he replied. “You will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying. They spent the rest of the day with him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard what John had said. He had also followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. He told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Messiah means Christ. 42And he brought Simon to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas.” Cephas means Peter, or Rock.
Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the Law. The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47Jesus saw Nathanael approaching. Here is what Jesus said about him. “He is a true Israelite. Nothing about him is false.”
48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree. I saw you there before Philip called you.”
49Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.”
50Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51Then he said to the disciples, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You will see heaven open. You will see the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”
