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parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Yhn Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 1 V1 V3 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) And that light is shining in the darkness, and darkness cannot overcome him.
OET-LV And the light is_shining in the darkness, and it not grasped the darkness.
SR-GNT Καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν. ‡
(Kai to fōs en taʸ skotia fainei, kai haʸ skotia auto ou katelaben.)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
UST God revealed his good and true light to the evil world, and that evil world did not vanquish it.
BSB The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome [fn] it.
1:5 Or comprehended
BLB And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
AICNT And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome[fn] it.
1:5, overcome: Or comprehend.
OEB and the light shines in the darkness,
⇔ and the darkness never overpowered it.
§
CSB That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
CEV The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out.
LSB And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
WEBBE The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome[fn] it.
1:5 The word translated “overcome” (κατέλαβεν) can also be translated “comprehended.” It refers to getting a grip on an enemy to defeat him.
WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)
MSG (3-5)Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.
NET And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.
LSV and the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not perceive it.
FBV The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not extinguished it.[fn]
1:5 The word in the original can also mean “overpowered” or “understood.”
TCNT The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
T4T People do not want him to reveal that what they do is evil [MET], just like darkness is evil. But just like darkness cannot put out light [MET], evil people have never prevented the one who was like a light from revealing God’s truth (OR, evil people have never understood the one who was like a light.)
LEB And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome[fn] it.
1:5 Or “comprehend” (if primarily referring to people in the world)
BBE And the light goes on shining in the dark; it is not overcome by the dark.
Moff No Moff YHN (JHN) book available
Wymth The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.
ASV And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.
DRA And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
YLT and the light in the darkness did shine, and the darkness did not perceive it.
Drby And the light appears in darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not.
RV And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.
Wbstr And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
KJB-1769 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
KJB-1611 And the light shineth in darknesse, and the darknesse comprehended it not.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps And the lyght shyneth in darkenesse: and the darknesse comprehended it not.
(And the light shineth/shines in darkness: and the darkness comprehended it not.)
Gnva And that light shineth in the darkenesse, and the darkenesse comprehended it not.
(And that light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. )
Cvdl and the light shyneth in the darknesse, and the darknesse comprehended it not.
(and the light shineth/shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.)
TNT and the lyght shyneth in the darcknes but the darcknes comprehended it not.
(and the light shineth/shines in the darkness but the darkness comprehended it not. )
Wycl and derknessis comprehendiden not it.
(and darkness comprehended not it.)
Luth Und das Licht scheinet in der Finsternis, und die Finsternis hat‘s nicht begriffen.
(And the light scheinet in the/of_the darkness, and the darkness hat‘s not begriffen.)
ClVg et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebræ eam non comprehenderunt.
(and light in darkness lucet, and tenebræ her not/no comprehenderunt. )
UGNT καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
(kai to fōs en taʸ skotia fainei, kai haʸ skotia auto ou katelaben.)
SBL-GNT καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
(kai to fōs en taʸ skotia fainei, kai haʸ skotia auto ou katelaben.)
TC-GNT καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
(kai to fōs en taʸ skotia fainei, kai haʸ skotia auto ou katelaben. )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).
1:5 the darkness can never extinguish it: Or the darkness has not understood it; literally the darkness cannot grasp it. The Greek word katalambanō (“grasp”) can mean either “understand” or “be hostile”; in John’s Gospel, it means hostility. The darkness would try to destroy Jesus (the light), but it would fail. The light would successfully bring salvation to the world.
The Word
John raises the curtain on his Gospel with a stunning description of Jesus Christ as “the Word” (Greek logos, John 1:1). Both Greek and Jewish listeners in the first century would immediately recognize the profound meaning of this title. Greeks would have thought of the seminal forces that sustain the universe. Jewish minds would have thought back to God creating the world with his word (Gen 1:3-28; Ps 33:6, 9). In Jesus’ day, the Word of God had taken on creative personal attributes. Jews viewed God’s Word as personifying divine Wisdom. Through Wisdom, God extended himself into the cosmos, creating the world (Prov 8:22-31).
John makes it clear that Jesus shares the same essence as God; the Son existed before time, and he was the agent of all creation. John anchors the divinity of Jesus in this ancient Jewish concept of Wisdom. The divine Wisdom that has existed with God from before time can now be known in Jesus Christ. In perhaps the most striking verse penned by an apostle, John writes that this Logos, this Wisdom, became flesh and lived among us as a human (John 1:14). What God is, the Logos is, and the Logos is Jesus Christ.
Passages for Further Study
Gen 1:3-28; Ps 33:6, 9; Prov 8:22-31; Isa 40:8; John 1:1-18; 1 Jn 1:1; Rev 19:13
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τὸ φῶς & φαίνει
the light & /is/_shining
John uses the light shines to refer to God’s truth and goodness being revealed as if it were a light shining. This truth and goodness was revealed to the world by Jesus. He is the embodiment of God’s truth and goodness. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or with a simile. Alternate translation: [God reveals his truth and goodness] or [God’s truth and goodness is like a light that shines]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ & καὶ ἡ σκοτία
in the darkness & and the darkness
Here John uses darkness to refer to what is false and evil. It is the spiritual darkness of the people in the world who do not love Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or with a simile. Alternate translation: [in the false and evil world, and that evil world] or [in the evil world that is like a dark place, and that dark place]
αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν
it not grasped
Here the word translated overcome could also be translated as “understand.” It could mean: (1) the evil forces in the world did not conquer God’s truth and goodness. Alternate translation: [did not conquer it] (2) the people in the world who don’t know God do not understand his truth and goodness. Alternate translation: [did not comprehend it] (3) the evil forces of this world neither conquered nor understood God’s truth and goodness. Alternate translation: [did not conquer or comprehend it]
Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns
αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν
it not grasped
Here, it refers to the light mentioned earlier in the verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [did not overcome the light]