John 15

¹ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

² Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunesto make it bear even more.

³ You are clean already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you.

⁴ Remain in me, as I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, unless it remains part of the vine,neither can you unless you remain in me.

⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; forcut off from me you can do nothing.

⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a branch -- and withers; these branches arecol ected and thrown on the fire and are burnt.

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you wilget it.

⁸ It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit and be my disciples.

⁹ I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.

¹⁰ If you keep my commandments you wil remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father'scommandments and remain in his love.

¹¹ I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.

¹² This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.

¹³ No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

¹⁵ I shall no longer cal you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I cal youfriends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.

¹⁶ You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit thatwil last; so that the Father wil give you anything you ask him in my name.

¹⁷ My command to you is to love one another.

¹⁸ If the world hates you, you must realise that it hated me before it hated you.

¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong tothe world, because my choice of you has drawn you out of the world, that is why the world hates you.

²⁰ Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me,they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours as wel .

²¹ But it wil be on my account that they will do al this to you, because they do not know the one whosent me.

²² If I had not come, if I had not spoken to them, they would have been blameless; but as it is they haveno excuse for their sin.

²³ Anyone who hates me hates my Father.

²⁴ If I had not performed such works among them as no one else has ever done, they would beblameless; but as it is, in spite of what they have seen, they hate both me and my Father.

²⁵ But al this was only to fulfil the words written in their Law: They hated me without reason.

²⁶ When the Paraclete comes, whom I shal send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issuesfrom the Father, he wil be my witness.

²⁷ And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.