John 1:7-17

⁷He came to tell people about the one who was like MET a light. He came to show that everything that the one who was like a light MET said was true, in order that he could enable all people to believe in the one who was like a light.

⁸John himself was not the one who was like a light MET. Instead, he came to tell others about that one who was like a light.

⁹While John was doing that, the one who was truly like a light was about to show himself to the world. He was the one who enables all people to know about God, as a light MET enables people to know what is in the darkness.

¹⁰Although the one who was like a light was here on the earth, and although he was the one whom God caused to create everything, most people MTY, HYP did not realize who he was. (OR, although he was the one whom God caused to create everything, most people did not accept him.)

¹¹Although he came to the land that belonged to him because he created it, most of his own people, the Jews, rejected him (OR, did not accept him).

¹²But those of us who welcomed him, God authorized that we would have a relationship with him MET like children have a relationship with their father. We were people who believed that what he said about himself MTY was true.

¹³We became like God's children, not because our ancestors belonged to God, or because of someone's sexual desires, nor because some man desired to have children like himself. Instead, we were caused by God {God caused us} to become like his children.

¹⁴The one who expresses MET ◄ God's character/what God is like► became a human being, and he lived among us for a while. As a result, we saw how wonderful he is. He came from God his father, and there was no other person as wonderful as he. He was wonderful because he always acted ◄kindly toward us/in ways we did not deserve►, and he always spoke truthfully to us about God.

¹⁵One day when John was telling people about him, he saw Jesus. Then he shouted to them, “I told you previously that someone will come later who is more important than I am, since he existed long before me. This is the man I was talking about!”

¹⁶We have all benefited very much from what he has done. Again and again, he has acted in kind way toward us in ways we did not deserve.

¹⁷Moses proclaimed God's laws to our ancestors. But what Jesus Christ did for us was much better. He acted in kindness toward us in ways we did not deserve and told us the truth about God.