John
1:18
(KJV)
No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, he hath declared him.
(1611 KJV)
No man hath seene God at any time: the onely
begotten Sonne, which is in
the bosome of the Father, he hath declared him.
(1587 Geneva Bible)
No man hath seene God at any time: that onely
begotten Sonne, which is in
the bosome of the Father, he hath declared him.
(1568 Bishops Bible)
No man hath seene God at any tyme: The onely
begotten sonne which is in
the bosome of the father, he hath declared hym.
(The
Great Bible 1539)
No man hath sene God at eny tyme. The onely
begotten sonne, whych is in
the bosome of the father, he hath declared hym.
(Matthew's Bible 1537)
No man hath sene God at anye tyme. The onlye
begotten sonne which is in
the bosome of the father, he hath declared hym.
(Coverdale Bible 1535)
No man hath sene God at eny tyme. The onely
begotte sonne which is in the
bosome of the father, he hath declared the same vnto vs.
(Tyndale Bible 1526)
No ma hath sene God at eny tyme. The only
begotte sonne which is in ye
bosome of ye father he hath declared him.
Counterfeit Versions
(AMP)
No
one has seen God [His essence, His divine nature] at any time; the [One and]
only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of
the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome
wonder of the Father].
(CSB)
No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the
Father’s side—he has revealed him.
(CEB)
No one has ever seen God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has
made God known.
(CEV)
No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the
Father, has shown us what God is like.
(ERV)
No one has ever seen God. The only Son is the one who has shown us what God is
like. He is himself God and is very close to the Father.
(ESV)
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made
him known.
(GNB)
No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the
Father's side, he has made him known.
(HCSB) No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son— the One who is at the
Father’s side— He has revealed Him.
(ISV)
No one has ever seen God. The uniquely existing God, who is close to the
Father’s side, has revealed him.
(LEB)
No one has seen God at any time; the one and only, God, the one who is in the
bosom of the Father—that one has made him known.
(THE
MESSAGE) We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. We got
the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This
endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No
one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind
God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain
as day.
(NABRE) No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s
side, has revealed him.
(NASV) No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the
bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
(NET)
No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest
fellowship with the Father, has made God known.
(NIRV) No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the
Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.
(NIV)
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in
closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
(NLT)
No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the
Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
(NRSV) No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the
Father’s heart, who has made him known.
(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god
who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him.
(RSV)
No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he
has made him known.
Textus Receptus – Traditional Text
θεον ουδεις εωρακεν πωποτε ο
μονογενης υιος ο ων
εις τον κολπον του πατρος εκεινος εξηγησατο
Hort-Westcott – Critical Text
θεον ουδεις εωρακεν πωποτε μονογενης θεος ο ων εις τον κολπον του πατρος εκεινος
εξηγησατο
Corrupted Manuscripts
The Only Begotten Son
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit (original)
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century (original)
L 019 - Seventh century
P 66 - Circa 200 A.D.
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Stephanus (1550 A.D.)
Beza 1598
Elzevir 1624 - 1633
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit (corrected)
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century (corrected)
K 017 - Ninth century
W 032 - Fourth/fifth century
Gamma 036 - Ninth or Tenth century
Delta 037 - Ninth century
Theta 038 - Ninth century
1 (Minuscule) - Seventh century
13 (Minuscule) - Eighth century
P 75 - Third Century
Published Greek Texts with Corruptions
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
Nestle-Aland - 2012 - Twenty Eighth Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Affected Teaching
“Son” is changed to “God” - Begotten is changed to “One and Only” in some
versions