⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.^(A)

⁵ he saved us,^(A) not because of righteous things we had done,^(B) but because of his mercy.^(C) He saved us through the washing^(D) of rebirth and renewal^(E) by the Holy Spirit,

¹⁸ He chose to give us birth^(A) through the word of truth,^(B) that we might be a kind of firstfruits^(C) of all he created.

²¹ Therefore, get rid of^(A) all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you,^(B) which can save you.

²² Now that you have purified^(A) yourselves by obeying^(B) the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply,^(C) from the heart.^{[a] 23} For you have been born again,^(D) not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,^(E) through the living and enduring word of God.^(F)