English Standard Version
John 1:4
4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
- New International Version (NIV)In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
Context of John 1:4
2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Read all of John 1John 1:4 word by word
ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for John 1:4
- John 5:21For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
- John 11:25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
- John 14:6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Colossians 3:4When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
- 1 John 1:2the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
- 1 John 5:11And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
- Revelation 22:1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- John 1:8He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
- John 8:12Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
- John 9:5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
- John 12:35So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
- Psalms 84:11For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
- Isaiah 35:4Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."
- Isaiah 42:6"I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
- Psalms 49:6those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Commentaries on John 1:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4In him was life - Many MSS., versions, and fathers, connect this with the preceding verse, thus: All things were made by him, and without him was nothing made. What was made had life in it; but This Life was the light of men. That is, though every thing he made had a principle of life in it, whether vegetable, animal, or intellectual, yet this, that life or animal principle in the human being, was not the light of men; not that light which could guide…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4In him was life - The evangelist had just affirmed John 5:3 that by the ́ Logosor “Word” the world was originally created. One part of that creation consisted “in breathing into man the breath of life,” Genesis 2:7. God is declared to be “life,” or the “living” God, because he is the source or fountain of life. This attribute is here ascribed to Jesus Christ. He not merely made the material worlds, but he also gave “life.” He was the agent by which the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4In Him was life: Life was God’s original gift to his creatures at creation (Genesis 1:20–28; 2:7). Now the logos gives people the possibility of new life, which comes through rebirth from God (John 1:13). This means receiving new life from God, not a second physical birth. It describes a spiritual beginning in which God gives people new life through faith, making them his children As one of his first creative acts, God brought light into the world…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. In Him was life--essentially and originally, as the previous verses show to be the meaning. Thus He is the Living Word, or, as He is called in 1Jo 1:1, 2, "the Word of Life." the life ... the light of men--All that in men which is true light--knowledge, integrity, intelligent, willing subjection to God, love to Him and to their fellow creatures, wisdom, purity, holy joy, rational happiness--all this "light of men" has its fountain in the essential…Read the comment
Topics related to John 1:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on John 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries