John
Chapter 1
1 1 2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
在起初已有圣言，圣言与天主同在，圣言就是天主。
2 He was in the beginning with God.
圣言在起初就与天主同在。
3 3 All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be
万有是藉着他而造成的；凡受造的，没有一样不是由他而造成的。
4 through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
在他内有生命，这生命是人的光。
5 4 the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
光在黑暗中照耀，黑暗决不能胜过他。
6 5 A man named John was sent from God.
曾有一人，是由天主派遣来的，名叫若翰。
7 He came for testimony, 6 to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
这人来，是为作证，为给光作证，为使众人藉他而信。
8 He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
他不是那光，只是为给那光作证。
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
那普照每人的真光，正在进入这世界；
10 He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.
他已在世界上；世界原是藉他造成的；但世界却不认识他。
11 He came to what was his own, but his own people 7 did not accept him.
他来到了自己的领域，自己的人却没有接受他。
12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,
但是，凡接受他的，他给他们，即给那些信他名字的人权能，好成为天主的子女。
13 8 who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God.
他们不是由血气，也不是由肉欲，也不是由男欲，而是由天主生的。
14 And the Word became flesh 9 and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.
于是，圣言成了血肉，寄居在我们中间；我们见了他的光荣，正如父独生者的光荣，满溢恩宠和真理。
15 10 John testified to him and cried out, saying, ＂This was he of whom I said, 'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'＂
若翰为他作证呼喊说：＂这就是我所说的：那在我以后来的，成了在我以前的，因他原先我而有。＂
16 From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, 11
从他的满盈中，我们都领受了恩宠，而且恩宠上加恩宠。
17 because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
因为法律是藉梅瑟传授的，恩宠和真理却是由耶稣基督而来的。
18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, 12 who is at the Father's side, has revealed him.
从来没有人见过天主，只有那在父怀里的独生者，身为天主的，他给我们详述了。
19 13 14 And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites (to him) to ask him, ＂Who are you?＂
这是若翰所作的见证：当时，犹太人从耶路撒冷派遣了司祭和肋未人，到他那里问他说：＂你是谁？＂
20 15 he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, ＂I am not the Messiah.＂
他明明承认，并没有否认；他明认说：＂我不是默西亚。＂
21 So they asked him, ＂What are you then? Are you Elijah?＂ 16 And he said, ＂I am not.＂ ＂Are you the Prophet?＂ He answered, ＂No.＂
他们又问他说：＂那么你是谁？你是厄里亚吗？＂他说：＂我不是。＂＂你是那位先知吗？＂他回答说：＂不是。＂
22 So they said to him, ＂Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?＂
于是他们问他说：＂你究竟是谁？好叫我们给那派遣我们来的人一个答复。关于你自己，你说什么呢？＂
23 He said: ＂I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert, ＂Make straight the way of the Lord,＂' 17 as Isaiah the prophet said.＂
他说：＂我是在旷野里呼喊者的声音：修直上主的道路吧！正如依撒意亚先知所说的。＂
24 Some Pharisees 18 were also sent.
被派遣来的有些是法利塞人，
25 They asked him, ＂Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?＂
他们又问他说：＂你既不是默西亚，又不是厄里亚，也不是那位先知，那么，你为什么施洗呢？＂
26 John answered them, ＂I baptize with water; 19 but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
若翰答复他们说：＂我以水施洗，你们中间站着一位，是你们所不认识的；
27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.＂
他在我以后来，我却当不起解他的鞋带。＂
28 This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, 20 where John was baptizing.
这些事发生于约旦河对岸的伯达尼，若翰施洗的地方。
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ＂Behold, the Lamb of God, 21 who takes away the sin of the world.
第二天，若翰见耶稣向他走来，便说：＂看，天主的羔羊，除免世罪者！
30 22 He is the one of whom I said,‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'
这位就是我论他曾说过：有一个人在我以后来，成了在我以前的，因他原先我而有。
31 I did not know him, 23 but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.＂
连我也不曾认识他，但为使他显示于以色列，为此，我来以水施洗。＂
32 John testified further, saying, ＂I saw the Spirit come down like a dove 24 from the sky and remain upon him.
若翰又作证说：＂我看见圣神彷佛鸽子从天降下，停在他身上。
33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.'
我也不曾认识他，但那派遣我来以水施洗的，给我说：你看见圣神降下，停在谁身上，谁就是那要以圣神施洗的人。
34 25 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.＂
我看见了，我便作证：他就是天主子。＂
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples,
第二天，若翰和他的两个门徒，又在那里站着，
36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ＂Behold, the Lamb of God.＂ 26
若翰看见耶稣走过，便注视着他说：＂看，天主的羔羊！＂
37 The two disciples 27 heard what he said and followed Jesus.
那两个门徒听见他说这话，便跟随了耶稣。
38 Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ＂What are you looking for?＂ They said to him, ＂Rabbi＂ (which translated means Teacher), ＂where are you staying?＂
耶稣转过身来，看见他们跟着，便问他们说：＂你们找什么？＂他们回答说：＂辣彼！──意即师傅──你住在那里？＂
39 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 four in the afternoon. 28
他向他们说：＂你们来看看吧！＂他们于是去了，看了他住的地方；并且那一天就在他那里住下了。那时，大约是第十时辰。
40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
西满伯多禄的哥哥安德肋，就是听了若翰的话，而跟随了耶稣的那两人中的一个，
41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, ＂We have found the Messiah＂ 29 (which is translated Anointed).
先去找到了自己的弟弟西满，并向他说：＂我们找到了默西亚。＂──意即基督。
42 Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ＂You are Simon the son of John; 30 you will be called Cephas＂ (which is translated Peter).
遂领他到耶稣跟前，耶稣注视着他说：＂你是若望的儿子西满，你要叫‘刻法’＂──意即伯多禄。
43 The next day he 31 decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, ＂Follow me.＂
第二天，耶稣愿意往加里肋亚去，遇到了斐理伯，耶稣便向他说：＂你跟随我吧！＂
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.
斐理伯是贝特赛达人，与安德肋和伯多禄同城。
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ＂We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.＂
斐理伯遇到纳塔乃耳，就向他说：＂梅瑟在法律上所记载，和先知们所预报的，我们找着了，就是若瑟的儿子，出身于纳匝肋的耶稣。＂
46 But Nathanael said to him, ＂Can anything good come from Nazareth?＂ Philip said to him, ＂Come and see.＂
纳塔乃耳便向他说：＂从纳匝肋还能出什么好事吗？＂斐理伯向他说：＂你来看一看吧！＂
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, ＂Here is a true Israelite. 32 There is no duplicity in him.＂
耶稣看见纳塔乃耳向自己走来，就指着他说：＂看！这确是一个以色列人，在他内毫无诡诈。＂
48 33 Nathanael said to him, ＂How do you know me?＂ Jesus answered and said to him, ＂Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.＂
纳塔乃耳给他说：＂你从那里认识我呢？＂耶稣回答说：＂斐理伯叫你以前，当你还在无花果树下时，我就看见了你。＂
49 Nathanael answered him, ＂Rabbi, you are the Son of God; 34 you are the King of Israel.＂
纳塔乃耳回答说：＂辣彼！你是天主子，你是以色列的君王。＂
50 Jesus answered and said to him, ＂Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? 35 You will see greater things than this.＂
耶稣遂说道：＂因为我向你说：我看见了你在无花果树下，你就信了吗？你要看见比这更大的事！＂
51 And he said to him, ＂Amen, amen, 36 I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.＂
又向他说：＂我实实在在告诉你们：你们要看见天开，天主的天使在人子身上，上去下来。＂
Footnotes(注解)
1 [1-18] The prologue states the main themes of the gospel: life, light, truth, the world, testimony, and the preexistence of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Logos, who reveals God the Father. In origin, it was probably an early Christian hymn. Its closest parallel is in other christological hymns, Col 1:15-20 and Philippians 2:6-11. Its core (John 1:1-5, 10-11, 14) is poetic in structure, with short phrases linked by ＂staircase parallelism,＂ in which the last word of one phrase becomes the first word of the next. Prose inserts (at least John 1:6-8, 15) deal with John the Baptist.
2 [1] In the beginning: also the first words of the Old Testament (Genesis 1:1). Was: this verb is used three times with different meanings in this verse: existence, relationship, and predication. The Word (Greek logos): this term combines God's dynamic, creative word (Genesis), personified preexistent Wisdom as the instrument of God's creative activity (Proverbs), and the ultimate intelligibility of reality (Hellenistic philosophy). With God: the Greek preposition here connotes communication with another. Was God: lack of a definite article with ＂God＂ in Greek signifies predication rather than identification.
3 [1] What came to be: while the oldest manuscripts have no punctuation here, the corrector of Bodmer Papyrus P75, some manuscripts, and the Ante-Nicene Fathers take this phrase with what follows, as staircase parallelism. Connection with John 1:3 reflects fourth-century anti-Arianism.
4 [5] The ethical dualism of light and darkness is paralleled in intertestamental literature and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Overcome: ＂comprehend＂ is another possible translation, but cf John 12:35; Wisdom 7:29-30.
5 [6] John was sent just as Jesus was ＂sent＂ (John 4:34) in divine mission. Other references to John the Baptist in this gospel emphasize the differences between them and John's subordinate role.
6 [7] Testimony: the testimony theme of John is introduced, which portrays Jesus as if on trial throughout his ministry. All testify to Jesus: John the Baptist, the Samaritan woman, scripture, his works, the crowds, the Spirit, and his disciples.
7 [11] What was his own . . . his own people: first a neuter, literally, ＂his own property/possession＂ (probably = Israel), then a masculine, ＂his own people＂ (the Israelites).
8 [13] Believers in Jesus become children of God not through any of the three natural causes mentioned but through God who is the immediate cause of the new spiritual life. Were born: the Greek verb can mean ＂begotten＂ (by a male) or ＂born＂ (from a female or of parents). The variant ＂he who was begotten,＂ asserting Jesus' virginal conception, is weakly attested in Old Latin and Syriac versions.
9 [14] Flesh: the whole person, used probably against docetic tendencies (cf 1 John 4:2; 1:7). Made his dwelling: literally, ＂pitched his tent/tabernacle.＂ Cf the tabernacle or tent of meeting that was the place of God's presence among his people (Exodus 25:8-9). The incarnate Word is the new mode of God's presence among his people. The Greek verb has the same consonants as the Aramaic word for God's presence (Shekinah). Glory: God's visible manifestation of majesty in power, which once filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34) and the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11, 27), is now centered in Jesus. Only Son: Greek, monogenes, but see the note on John 1:18. Grace and truth: these words may represent two Old Testament terms describing Yahweh in covenant relationship with Israel (cf Exodus 34:6), thus God's ＂love＂ and ＂fidelity.＂ The Word shares Yahweh's covenant qualities.
10 [15] This verse, interrupting John 1:14, 16 seems drawn from John 1:30.
11 [16] Grace in place of grace: replacement of the Old Covenant with the New (cf John 1:17). Other possible translations are ＂grace upon grace＂ (accumulation) and ＂grace for grace＂ (correspondence).
12 [18] The only Son, God: while the vast majority of later textual witnesses have another reading, ＂the Son, the only one＂ or ＂the only Son,＂ the translation above follows the best and earliest manuscripts, monogenes theos, but takes the first term to mean not just ＂Only One＂ but to include a filial relationship with the Father, as at Luke 9:38 (＂only child＂) or Hebrews 11:17 (＂only son＂) and as translated at John 1:14. The Logos is thus ＂only Son＂ and God but not Father/God.
13 [19-51] The testimony of John the Baptist about the Messiah and Jesus' self-revelation to the first disciples. This section constitutes the introduction to the gospel proper and is connected with the prose inserts in the prologue. It develops the major theme of testimony in four scenes: John's negative testimony about himself; his positive testimony about Jesus; the revelation of Jesus to Andrew and Peter; the revelation of Jesus to Philip and Nathanael.
14 [19] The Jews: throughout most of the gospel, the ＂Jews＂ does not refer to the Jewish people as such but to the hostile authorities, both Pharisees and Sadducees, particularly in Jerusalem, who refuse to believe in Jesus. The usage reflects the atmosphere, at the end of the first century, of polemics between church and synagogue, or possibly it refers to Jews as representative of a hostile world (John 1:10-11).
15 [20] Messiah: the anointed agent of Yahweh, usually considered to be of Davidic descent. See further the note on John 1:41.
16 [21] Elijah: the Baptist did not claim to be Elijah returned to earth (cf Malachi 3:23; Matthew 11:14). The Prophet: probably the prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15; cf Acts 3:22).
17 [23] This is a repunctuation and reinterpretation (as in the synoptic gospels and Septuagint) of the Hebrew text of Isaiah 40:3 which reads, ＂A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord.＂
18 [24] Some Pharisees: other translations, such as ＂Now they had been sent from the Pharisees,＂ misunderstand the grammatical construction. This is a different group from that in John 1:19; the priests and Levites would have been Sadducees, not Pharisees.
19 [26] I baptize with water: the synoptics add ＂but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit＂ (Mark 1:8) or ＂. . . holy Spirit and fire＂ (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16). John's emphasis is on purification and preparation for a better baptism.
20 [28] Bethany across the Jordan: site unknown. Another reading is ＂Bethabara.＂
21 [29] The Lamb of God: the background for this title may be the victorious apocalyptic lamb who would destroy evil in the world (Rev 5-7; 17:14); the paschal lamb, whose blood saved Israel (Exodus 12); and/or the suffering servant led like a lamb to the slaughter as a sin-offering (Isaiah 53:7, 10).
22 [30] He existed before me: possibly as Elijah (to come, John 1:27); for the evangelist and his audience, Jesus' preexistence would be implied (see the note on John 1:1).
23 [31] I did not know him: this gospel shows no knowledge of the tradition (Luke 1) about the kinship of Jesus and John the Baptist. The reason why I came baptizing with water: in this gospel, John's baptism is not connected with forgiveness of sins; its purpose is revelatory, that Jesus may be made known to Israel.
24 [32] Like a dove: a symbol of the new creation (Genesis 8:8) or the community of Israel (Hosea 11:11). Remain: the first use of a favorite verb in John, emphasizing the permanency of the relationship between Father and Son (as here) and between the Son and the Christian. Jesus is the permanent bearer of the Spirit.
25 [34] The Son of God: this reading is supported by good Greek manuscripts, including the Chester Beatty and Bodmer Papyri and the Vatican Codex, but is suspect because it harmonizes this passage with the synoptic version: ＂This is my beloved Son＂ (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). The poorly attested alternate reading, ＂God's chosen One,＂ is probably a reference to the Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 42:1).
26 [36] John the Baptist's testimony makes his disciples' following of Jesus plausible.
27 [37] The two disciples: Andrew (John 1:40) and, traditionally, John, son of Zebedee (see the note on John 13:23).
28 [39] Four in the afternoon: literally, the tenth hour, from sunrise, in the Roman calculation of time. Some suggest that the next day, beginning at sunset, was the sabbath; they would have stayed with Jesus to avoid travel on it.
29 [41] Messiah: the Hebrew word masiah, ＂anointed one＂ (see the note on Luke 2:11), appears in Greek as the transliterated messias only here and in John 4:25. Elsewhere the Greek translation christos is used.
30 [42] Simon, the son of John: in Matthew 16:17, Simon is called Bariona, ＂son of Jonah,＂ a different tradition for the name of Simon's father. Cephas: in Aramaic = the Rock; cf Matthew 16:18. Neither the Greek equivalent Petros nor, with one isolated exception, Cephas is attested as a personal name before Christian times.
31 [43] He: grammatically, could be Peter, but logically is probably Jesus.
32 [47] A true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him: Jacob was the first to bear the name ＂Israel＂ (Genesis 32:29), but Jacob was a man of duplicity (Genesis 27:35-36).
33 [48] Under the fig tree: a symbol of messianic peace (cf Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10).
34 [49] Son of God: this title is used in the Old Testament, among other ways, as a title of adoption for the Davidic king (2 Sam 7:14; Psalm 2:7; 89:27), and thus here, with King of Israel, in a messianic sense. For the evangelist, Son of God also points to Jesus' divinity (cf John 20:28).
35 [50] Possibly a statement: ＂You [singular] believe because I saw you under the fig tree.＂
36 [51] The double ＂Amen＂ is characteristic of John. You is plural in Greek. The allusion is to Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:12).