OET OET-RV OET-LV GHT ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Parallel Simple Interlinear Topics Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL 2 PS WIS TOB MAN BAR DNG GES LES ESG JDT 3 MAC SIR 1 MAC 2 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL LAO PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51
People tagged in the matching LV passage: God
Used in these topics: Yahweh, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Trinity) · Yeshua/Jesus, divine and human
OET (OET-RV) In the beginning was the message,[fn] and the message was with God, and the message was and is God.
1:1 TD: This passage is complex to translate because the message was also the messenger—that is, Yeshua came not only to teach about getting saved, but also to become the actual pathway to be saved!
In this section the author introduces the subject of his book, Jesus Christ. However, he does not mention Jesus by name until near the end of this section, in 1:17. Instead, he uses figurative language, referring to him as the Word and the light.
Here are other possible section headings:
The Word brought life and light to all people
Jesus is the Word and the light
In this paragraph John introduced his Gospel by writing about a person whom he calls the Word. He emphasized that from the beginning the Word was with God and that the Word was God. God created everything through the Word. Read Genesis 1:1–5 before you translate this section. It is good to use the same words for “beginning,” “made/created,” and “light” that are used there.
This paragraph has a lot of images in it like a poem and may have been a song or hymn.
In the beginning was the Word,
¶ At the beginning of the world, the Word existed,
¶ Before the world was created, the Word already existed.
In the beginning was the Word: This clause indicates that the Word existed before all things. The Word existed before God created the world. There was never a time before the Word existed. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
In the beginning, the Word already was. (REB)
In the beginning, the Word already existed. (GW)
In the beginning: This phrase refers to the time when the world and the whole universe began. In some languages it may be more natural to say what beginning is being referred to. If this is true in your language, here are some ways you could translate this phrase:
At the beginning of all things
At the beginning of the universe/world
At the beginning of creation
In some languages it may be natural to translate the noun beginning with a verb. For example:
When all things began (NEB)
When the world first existed
This phrase also appears in Genesis 1:1a. If possible, translate it the same way in both places. If you use footnotes, you may want to refer your readers to Genesis 1:1.
the Word: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Word here means “communication,” “speech” or “message.” This is a title for Jesus Christ. It indicates that God reveals himself in and through Jesus. God expresses himself completely in and through his Word. Jesus shows us what God is like. Hebrews 1:2 states that God has spoken to his people through Jesus.
The BSB indicates that the Word is a title for God by using a capital W. If you do not normally capitalize the names of God, you do not need to use a capital letter here. In some languages you may need to say explicitly that this is a title:
the person named/titled the Word
the one who is called the word (CEV)
At this point you should avoid stating explicitly that the Word was Jesus Christ.
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was united with God.
The Word and God were together,
and: The common Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as and here introduces some more information about the Word. Some English versions, such as the GNT, do not explicitly translate this word. Introduce this new information in a way that is natural in your language.
the Word was with God: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as the Word was with God indicates that there was a close and loving relationship between God and the Word. This was true at the beginning of creation, and it is true still. The verb was does not indicate that the Word has ceased to be with God. It just indicates that it was true in the beginning.
The Greek word translated as with here refers to close relationship. Refer to your translation of this word in Mark 14:49, 2 Corinthians 5:8, and Philemon 13.
Here are some other ways to translate the Word was with God:
the Word was together with God
the Word was a companion of God
the Word and God were united together
and the Word was God.
The Word was truly/actually God.
and the Word shared God’s nature.
the Word was God: Verse 1:1c is very important to understand the whole of John’s Gospel, and really, the whole of the New Testament. Translate it carefully and check your translation with church leaders and scholars. John indicated that the Word had the essential being of God. The Word had the same nature as God and the same qualities. He has existed forever, from the beginning, as God. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
what God was, the Word was
the Word was fully God (NET)
was truly God (CEV)
It is important that you communicate the idea the Word was God, not “the Word was a god” or “the Word was divine.” There was and is only one God. The Word is not himself, alone, all of the Godhead. Rather, the Word is a part of the life and essential being of the Godhead.
As in 1:1b, the past tense of the verb was does not indicate that the situation has changed. It does not mean that the Word has ceased to be God.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος καί ὁ λόγος ἦν πρός τόν Θεόν καί Θεός ἦν ὁ λόγος)
This phrase refers to the very earliest time before God created the heavens and the earth. It does not refer to time in the distant past. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [Before the beginning of the universe there was] or [Before the universe began there was]
Note 2 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples
ὁ λόγος
the word
Here, the Word refers to Jesus. It does not refer to a spoken word. The ULT capitalizes Word to indicate that this is a title for Jesus. Be sure to retain this title in your translation. Use whatever convention your language uses to indicate that this is a title. If “word” is feminine in your language, it could be translated as “the one who is called the Word.” See the discussion in the chapter introduction for more information. Alternate translation: [Jesus, who is the Word]
OET (OET-RV) In the beginning was the message,[fn] and the message was with God, and the message was and is God.
1:1 TD: This passage is complex to translate because the message was also the messenger—that is, Yeshua came not only to teach about getting saved, but also to become the actual pathway to be saved!
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
Open Bible Data site copyright © 2023–2026 Freely-Given.org.
Python source code for creating these static pages is available on GitHub under an open licence.
For Bible data copyrights, see the details for each displayed Bible version.
The Open English Translation (OET) main site is at OpenEnglishTranslation.Bible or OET.Bible.