Separated from God

⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(A)unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is ^(B)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ^8 (C)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ^(D)“How can these things be?”

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ^11 (E)Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and ^(F)you do not receive Our witness. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (G)No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ^[a]who is in heaven. ^14 (H)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so ^(I)must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever ^(J)believes in Him should ^[b]not perish but ^(K)have eternal life. ^16 (L)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten ^(M)Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ^17 (N)For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

^18 (O)“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, ^(P)that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For ^(Q)everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been ^(R)done in God.”

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am ^(A)the way, ^(B)the truth, and ^(C)the life. ^(D)No one comes to the Father ^(E)except through Me.

Behold, My Servant

¹⁵ But when Jesus knew it, ^(A)He withdrew from there. ^(B)And great ^[a]multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. ¹⁶ Yet He ^(C)warned them not to make Him known, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

Abraham’s Faith Confirmed^(A)

22 Now it came to pass after these things that ^(B)God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

² Then He said, “Take now your son, ^(C)your only son Isaac, whom you ^(D)love, and go ^(E)to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a ^(F)burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

³ So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. ⁵ And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the ^[a]lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will ^(G)come back to you.”

⁶ So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and ^(H)laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. ⁷ But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the ^[b]lamb for a burnt offering?”

⁸ And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the ^(I)lamb for a ^(J)burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

⁹ Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and ^(K)laid him on the altar, upon the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

¹¹ But the ^(L)Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”

¹² And He said, ^(M)“Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for ^(N)now I know that you fear God, since you have not ^(O)withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

¹³ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, ^[c]The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

¹⁵ Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, ¹⁶ and said: ^(P)“By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— ¹⁷ blessing I will ^(Q)bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants ^(R)as the stars of the heaven ^(S)and as the sand which is on the seashore; and ^(T)your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. ^18 (U)In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ^(V)because you have obeyed My voice.” ¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to ^(W)Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.