Feast of the Translation of the Apostle John

Tomorrow is the feast day of the Translation of the Apostle and Evangelist John. As an offering we have translated the first chapter of the Gospel written by him.

The Gospel According to John

Chapter 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him, and without him not one thing came to be which has come to be.

In him was Life and the Life was the light of men.

And the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent by God whose name was John.

He came for witness, to bear witness concerning the Light, so that through him all men believe.

He was not the Light, but [came] to bear witness concerning the Light.

It was the Light which is true, which illumines every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, and the world did not know him.

He came to his own place and his own people did not receive him.

As many, then, as received him, he gave to them authority to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,

Those who were born not from blood, nor from the will of the flesh, nor from the will of man, but from God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his Glory, Glory as of the Only-Begotten by the Father; [and he is] full of Grace and Truth.

John bears witness concerning him and has cried, saying: This was he whom I said: He who is coming after me has come to be ahead of me, for he was before me.

For all of us took from his fullness, and grace for grace.

For the Law was given through Moses; Grace and Truth came to be [given] through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God; the Only-Begotten Son, he who abides in the bosom of the Father, he has explained.

And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him: Who are you?

And he confessed and did not deny. And he confessed: For I myself am not the Christ.

And they asked him: What then? Are you Elias? And he says: I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he answered: No.

They therefore said to him: Who are you? So that we give an answer to those who sent us.

He said: I am a voice crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaias the prophet said.

And those who had been sent were from the Pharisees.

And they asked him and said to him: Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the Prophet?

John replied to them, saying: I baptize in water; among you stood one whom you do not know.

He is the one who is coming after me, he who has come to be ahead of me, of whom I am not worthy to loose the straps of his sandals.

These things happened in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day John sees Jesus coming towards him and says: Behold the lamb of God, he who takes up the sin of the world.

He is the one about whom I said: Behind me is coming a man who has come to be ahead of me for he was before me.

And I did not know him, but so that he be manifested to Israel, for that very reason I came baptizing in the water.

And John bore witness, saying: For I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove from Heaven and it remained on him.

And I did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me: On him whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.

And I have seen, and I have born witness, that this is the Son of God.

The next day again, John was standing, and two of his disciples.

And looking upon Jesus as he is walking, he says: Behold the Lamb of God.

And the two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus.

Having turned, therefore, and having seen them following, Jesus says to them:

What do you want? They then said to him: Rabbi (which translated means Teacher) where are you staying?

He says to them: Come and see. They came and saw where he was staying. And they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.

It was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, one of the two who heard from John and followed him.

He first finds his own brother Simon and says to him: We have found the Messiah, which is, interpreted, the Christ.

And he led him to Jesus. Having looked upon him, Jesus said: Are you Simon the son of Jonah? You will be called Kephas, which is interpreted Peter.

The next day, Jesus wished to go out into Galilee. And he finds Philip and says to him: Follow me.

Philip, then, was from Bethsaida, from the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip finds Nathaniel, and says to him: We have found him whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets, Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.

And Nathaniel said to him: Is it possible that there is anything good out of Nazareth? Philip says to him: Come and see.

Jesus saw Nathaniel coming towards him and says concerning him: Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no cunning.

Nathaniel says to him: How do you know me? Jesus replied and said to him. I saw you before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree.

Nathaniel replied and said to him: Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel!

Jesus replied and said to him: Because I said to you, I saw you underneath the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.

And he says to him [sing.]: Amen, amen I say to you [pl.]: From now you [pl.] will see Heaven opened and the angels of God ascending, and descending upon the Son of Man.