Chapter 15

'I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman;

every branch in me not bearing fruit, He doth take it away, and every one bearing fruit, He doth cleanse by pruning it, that it may bear more fruit;

already ye are clean, because of the word that I have spoken to you;

remain in me, and I in you, as the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself, if it may not remain in the vine, so neither ye, if ye may not remain in me.

'I am the vine, ye the branches; he who is remaining in me, and I in him, this one doth bear much fruit, because apart from me ye are not able to do anything;

if any one may not remain in me, he was cast forth without as the branch, and was withered, and they gather them, and cast to fire, and they are burned;

if ye may remain in me, and my sayings in you may remain, whatever ye may wish ye shall ask, and it shall be done to you.

'In this was my Father glorified, that ye may bear much fruit, and ye shall become my disciples.

According as the Father did love me, I also loved you, remain in my love;

if my commandments ye may keep, ye shall remain in my love, according as I the commands of my Father have kept, and do remain in His love;

these things I have spoken to you, that my joy in you may remain, and your joy may be full.

'This is my command, that ye love one another, according as I did love you;

greater love than this hath no one, that any one his life may lay down for his friends;

ye are my friends, if ye may do whatever I command you;

no more do I call you servants, because the servant hath not known what his lord doth, and you I have called friends, because all things that I heard from my Father, I did make known to you.

'Ye did not choose out me, but I chose out you, and did appoint you, that ye might go away, and might bear fruit, and your fruit might remain, that whatever ye may ask of the Father in my name, He may give you.

'These things I command you, that ye love one another;

if the world doth hate you, ye know that it hath hated me before you;

if of the world ye were, the world its own would have been loving, and because of the world ye are not -- but I chose out of the world -- because of this the world hateth you.

'Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord; if me they did persecute, you also they will persecute; if my word they did keep, yours also they will keep;

but all these things will they do to you, because of my name, because they have not known Him who sent me;

if I had not come and spoken to them, they were not having sin; but now pretext they have not for their sin.

'He who is hating me, doth hate also my Father;

if I did not do among them the works that no other hath done, they were not having sin, and now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father;

but -- that the word may be fulfilled that was written in their law -- They hated me without a cause.

'And when the Comforter may come, whom I will send to you from the Father -- the Spirit of truth, who from the Father doth come forth, he will testify of me;

and ye also do testify, because from the beginning ye are with me.