Book of John KJV
The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the eternal Word made flesh, and asks its reader for one thing: to believe, and so to have life. Every chapter is linked below, from John 1 to John 21 in the King James Version, followed by John 3:16 in full, a line on what happens in each chapter, and the verses people most often come to this book looking for. Looking for a particular phrase? Search all three translations.
Verse of the Day →
Today’s KJV verse with a short note on what it means — a new one each day.
Bible Verses About Faith →
Believing is John’s central word — the same theme gathered from across Scripture.
Browse All 21 Chapters of John (KJV)
The complete Gospel of John. Select a chapter to read its full King James text with verse numbers.
John 3:16 (KJV)
The verse Luther called “the gospel in miniature.” Verse 17 completes the thought most stop short of: the Son came not to condemn the world, but to save it.
Read John 3 →The same 21 chapters as the grid above, each with a line on what happens in it — for the reader who remembers the scene but not the number. Follow any heading to read that chapter in full.
John Chapter 1 KJV
51 verses
The prologue: the Word who was with God in the beginning and was made flesh, John the Baptist's witness — “Behold the Lamb of God” — and the calling of the first disciples.
John Chapter 2 KJV
25 verses
The wedding at Cana, where water becomes wine in the first of John's seven signs, followed by the cleansing of the temple at Passover.
John Chapter 3 KJV
36 verses
Nicodemus comes by night and is told he must be born again. This is the chapter that holds John 3:16, and it closes with the Baptist's last testimony.
John Chapter 4 KJV
54 verses
The Samaritan woman at Jacob's well and the offer of living water, then the healing of the nobleman's son at Capernaum — the second sign.
John Chapter 5 KJV
47 verses
A man ill for thirty-eight years is healed at the pool of Bethesda on a sabbath, and Jesus answers the objection by claiming the Father's own work.
John Chapter 6 KJV
71 verses
The feeding of the five thousand, the walk on the sea of Galilee, and the “I am the bread of life” discourse, after which many disciples turn back.
John Chapter 7 KJV
53 verses
Jesus teaches at the Feast of Tabernacles amid open division over who he is, and on the last day calls anyone who thirsts to come to him and drink.
John Chapter 8 KJV
59 verses
The woman taken in adultery, “I am the light of the world,” and the truth that makes free — a chapter that ends with stones taken up against him.
John Chapter 9 KJV
41 verses
A man born blind is healed with clay and put out of the synagogue for saying who did it — the sign in which those who claim to see prove blind.
John Chapter 10 KJV
42 verses
“I am the door” and “I am the good shepherd,” who lays down his life for the sheep, followed by the confrontation at the Feast of Dedication in winter.
John Chapter 11 KJV
57 verses
Lazarus dies and is raised at Bethany. The chapter holds “I am the resurrection, and the life,” and the shortest verse in the Bible — “Jesus wept.”
John Chapter 12 KJV
50 verses
Mary anoints Jesus' feet with costly spikenard, the crowd meets him with palm branches at the triumphal entry, and his public ministry closes.
John Chapter 13 KJV
38 verses
The Last Supper opens with Jesus washing the disciples' feet. He points out his betrayer, gives the new commandment, and foretells Peter's denial.
John Chapter 14 KJV
31 verses
“Let not your heart be troubled” — the many mansions of the Father's house, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and the promise of the Comforter.
John Chapter 15 KJV
27 verses
“I am the true vine”: abiding and bearing fruit, no greater love than laying down one's life, and a warning that the world will hate them as it hated him.
John Chapter 16 KJV
33 verses
The Comforter's work of reproving and guiding, sorrow that turns to joy as a woman's does after travail, and “be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John Chapter 17 KJV
26 verses
The high priestly prayer. Jesus prays for himself, for his disciples, and for all who will believe through their word — that they may all be one.
John Chapter 18 KJV
40 verses
The arrest in the garden over the brook Cedron, Peter's sword and then his three denials, and the hearings before Annas, Caiaphas, and Pilate.
John Chapter 19 KJV
42 verses
The scourging and the crown of thorns, Pilate's “Behold the man,” the crucifixion under a title written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, “It is finished,” and the burial.
John Chapter 20 KJV
31 verses
The empty tomb, Mary Magdalene mistaking Jesus for the gardener, Thomas answering “My Lord and my God,” and John's own statement of why he wrote the book.
John Chapter 21 KJV
25 verses
Breakfast by the sea of Tiberias after a catch of a hundred and fifty-three fishes, Peter restored with “feed my sheep,” and a closing word on the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Most-Searched Verses in John
After John 3:16 above, these are the passages people most often come to John looking for. Each links to its full chapter in the KJV.
The sixth of the seven “I am” sayings, and John's most-quoted claim about how a person comes to God.
John 14:6The prologue's opening line, echoing Genesis — the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1Spoken to those who believed on him: the truth that frees is Christ himself, not information in general.
John 8:32The contrast that defines the Good Shepherd chapter — the thief takes life, the shepherd gives it abundantly.
John 10:10Another “I am” saying, spoken during the Feast of Tabernacles when the temple lamps were lit.
John 8:12The hinge of the prologue: the eternal Word became flesh and dwelt — literally, pitched his tent — among us.
John 1:14Jesus' word to Martha at the tomb of Lazarus, moments before he raises him.
John 11:25The “new commandment” given at the Last Supper, with a new measure — “as I have loved you.”
John 13:34From the vine-and-branches discourse, and the closest John comes to defining love: laying down one's life.
John 15:13Faith and Believing in John
John never uses the noun “faith” — he uses the verb “believe,” nearly a hundred times. For John, faith is not a thing you hold but something you do: you come to Christ, you trust him, you keep trusting. He states his whole purpose in these terms.
John's statement of why he wrote the book at all — that believing, you might have life.
John 20:31The first “I am” saying, tying believing directly to a hunger and thirst only Christ satisfies.
John 6:35Resurrection framed as a person to believe in, not only an event to wait for.
John 11:25-26Eternal Life in John
“Eternal life” is John's favourite way of naming salvation, and he treats it as a present possession, not only a future reward — something the believer “hath” now. He even defines it, in Jesus' own prayer.
Eternal life in the present tense: the believer has already passed from death unto life.
John 5:24From the Good Shepherd discourse — the life given is held securely, not on loan.
John 10:28Jesus' own definition, prayed the night before the cross: to know God and the one he sent.
John 17:3Love in John
The Last Supper discourse (chapters 13-17) turns almost entirely on love — the Father's love for the Son, Christ's love for his disciples, and the love they are commanded to have for one another as the mark of belonging to him.
The new commandment, with love for one another named as the sign the world will read.
John 13:34-35The commandment restated in the vine discourse, its standard again “as I have loved you.”
John 15:12Love measured by cost — the greatest love lays down its life.
John 15:13About the Gospel of John
Author.The gospel is traditionally attributed to John, the son of Zebedee and one of the twelve apostles, whom the book calls “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” It never names him outright, identifying its author only that way in John 21:24.
Date.John is generally regarded as the last of the four gospels to be written, most often dated to around AD 85 to 95 — a generation after the events it records.
Structure.After a prologue on the eternal Word (1:1-18), the book falls into two halves: a “Book of Signs” (chapters 2-12), built around seven miracles that reveal who Jesus is, and a “Book of Glory” (13-21), which slows almost to a standstill for the Last Supper, the arrest, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.
Themes.John is organised around two sevens — seven signs and seven “I am” sayings (the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, and the true vine). Its recurring words are believing, life, light, truth, and love, and its purpose is stated plainly in John 20:31: that believing, the reader might have life through Christ’s name.
A verse a day
Verse of the Day (KJV)
One King James verse each day, with a short note on the passage it comes from and a link straight to the full chapter. It changes at midnight.
Read today’s verse →Recommended reading
KJV study & journaling Bibles
Everything on this page is free to read. If you want John in print, these are the two King James editions worth knowing about — one with study notes, one with room to write.
KJV Study Bible
Thomas Nelson, Holman and other editions
The King James text with study notes, book introductions, and maps — useful for the signs, the “I am” sayings, and where John's account sits beside the other three gospels.
KJV Journaling Bible
Wide-margin and notetaking editions
Ruled margins beside the King James text — room to write as you read through the 21 chapters of John.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of the Book of John?
John's own summary is that he wrote so “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). The gospel presents Jesus as the eternal Word made flesh (John 1:1, 1:14), records seven miraculous “signs” and seven “I am” sayings, and centres on believing in Christ and receiving eternal life. It has 21 chapters and is the fourth gospel in the New Testament.
What does John 3:16 mean?
John 3:16 reads: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It condenses the gospel into one sentence — God's love as the motive, the giving of his Son as the act, believing as the response, and everlasting life as the result. The word “so” points to the manner and extent of that love, and the next verse adds that the Son was sent to save the world, not to condemn it (John 3:17).
Who wrote the Gospel of John and when?
The gospel is traditionally attributed to John, the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles, whom the book calls “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” The text names its author only that way (John 21:20, 21:24). It is usually dated later than the other three gospels, commonly to around AD 85 to 95.
How is John different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke?
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because they share much of the same material and outline. John stands apart: about ninety per cent of its content is unique. It has no birth narrative, no parables, and no account of the Last Supper's bread and cup; instead it opens with the eternal Word, structures Jesus' ministry around seven signs and seven “I am” sayings, and devotes five long chapters (13-17) to the night before the crucifixion.