John 1.8
type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: John chapter: 1 verses: "8" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 1 enriched: false
Quoted in
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John 1.8
Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV (ASV)
"6. There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7. The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him."
"8. He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light."
"9. There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world. 10. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not." (John 1:6-10, ASV)
WEB (WEB)
"6. There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7. The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him."
"8. He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light."
"9. The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world. 10. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him." (John 1:6-10, WEB)
KJV (KJV)
"6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe."
"8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light."
"9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." (John 1:6-10, KJV)
YLT (YLT)
"6. There came a man, having been sent from God, whose name [is] John, 7. this one came for testimony, that he might testify about the Light, that all might believe through him;"
"8. that one was not the Light, but, that he might testify about the Light."
"9. He was the true Light, which doth enlighten every man, coming to the world; 10. in the world he was, and the world through him was made, and the world did not know him:" (John 1:6-10, YLT)
Setting
- Speaker: John the Apostle (traditionally) / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
- Audience: later Christian audience (high-Christological emphasis; against early gnosticism)
- Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Ephesus (composition)
- Time period: events c. 26-33 AD (3-Passover chronology); composed c. AD 85-95
Theological reading
Key words
No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.