约翰福音 3
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
论重生
3 有一个法利赛人名叫尼哥德慕，是犹太人的官。 2 一天晚上，他来见耶稣，说：“老师，我们知道你是上帝差来教导人的，因为如果没有上帝的同在，没有人能行你所行的神迹。”
3 耶稣说：“我实实在在地告诉你，人若不重生[a]，就不能看见上帝的国。”
4 尼哥德慕说：“人老了，怎能重生呢？难道要再进母腹生一次吗？”
5 耶稣说：“我实实在在地告诉你，人如果不是从水和圣灵生的，就不能进上帝的国。 6 从肉体生的还是肉体，从圣灵生的才是灵。 7 所以我说你们必须重生，你不要惊奇。 8 风随意吹动，你听见它的声音，却不知道它从哪里来，往哪里去。凡从圣灵生的人也是这样。”
9 尼哥德慕又问：“这怎么可能呢？”
10 耶稣说：“你是以色列人的教师，还不明白这事吗？ 11 我实实在在地告诉你，我们所说的是自己知道的，所见证的是自己见过的，可是你们不肯接受我们的见证。 12 我对你们说地上的事，你们尚且不信，要是说天上的事，你们怎么会信呢？ 13 除了从天上降下来的人子[b]以外，没有人到过天上。 14 摩西在旷野怎样举起铜蛇，人子也必照样被举起来， 15 叫一切信祂的人都得到永生。
16 “因为上帝爱世人，甚至将祂独一的儿子赐给他们，叫一切信祂的人不致灭亡，反得永生。 17 上帝差祂的儿子到世上来，不是要定世人的罪，而是要借着祂的儿子拯救世人。 18 信祂的人不会被定罪，不信的人已经被定罪，因为他们不信上帝独一的儿子。 19 光来到世上，世人因为自己的行为邪恶而不爱光，反爱黑暗，这就是他们被定罪的原因。 20 作恶的人恨光，不肯接近光，恐怕他们的罪行暴露出来。 21 但遵行真理的人喜欢接近光，好显明他所做的是靠上帝做的。”
施洗者约翰论耶稣
22 这事之后，耶稣和门徒前往犹太地区，在那里住下来给人施洗。 23-24 那时约翰还没有入狱，他在靠近撒冷的哀嫩也给人施洗。那里水多，众人都去受洗。 25 约翰的门徒和一个犹太人为了洁净的礼仪争辩起来， 26 于是门徒来见约翰，说：“老师，你看，以前在约旦河对岸和你在一起、你为祂做见证的那位在给人施洗，众人都去祂那里了！”
27 约翰回答说：“除非是从天上赏赐下来的，否则人什么都得不到。 28 你们自己可以为我做见证，我说过我不是基督，我只是奉差在祂前面预备道路的。 29 娶新娘的是新郎，站在旁边的朋友听见新郎的声音，就会欢喜快乐。因此，我现在也心满意足了。 30 祂必兴旺，我必衰微。
31 “从天上来的，超越一切；从地上来的，属于地，他所谈论的也不外乎地上的事。那来自天上、超越万物的， 32 要把所见所闻讲给人听，只是没有人接受祂的见证。 33 但已经接受祂见证的人证实了上帝是真实的。 34 上帝所差来的，说的是上帝的话，因为上帝将圣灵无限量地赐给祂。 35 父爱子，已把万物交在祂手里。 36 信子的人有永生；不信子的人得不到永生，上帝的烈怒常在他身上。”
John 3
The Voice
3 Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, a man with some clout among his people. 2 He came to Jesus under the cloak of darkness to question Him.
Nicodemus: Teacher, some of us have been talking. You are obviously a teacher who has come from God. The signs You are doing are proof that God is with You.
At this time, Israel’s Roman occupiers have given a small group of Sadducees and Pharisees limited powers to rule, and Nicodemus is one of the Pharisees. He holds a seat on the ruling council known as the Sanhedrin, and surprisingly Nicodemus is among those who seek Jesus for His teaching. It appears that he believes more about Jesus than he wants others to know, so he comes at night.
Jesus: 3 I tell you the truth: only someone who experiences birth for a second time[a] can hope to see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus: 4 I am a grown man. How can someone be born again when he is old like me? Am I to crawl back into my mother’s womb for a second birth? That’s impossible!
Jesus: 5 I tell you the truth, if someone does not experience water and Spirit birth, there’s no chance he will make it into God’s kingdom. 6 Like from like. Whatever is born from flesh is flesh; whatever is born from Spirit is spirit. 7 Don’t be shocked by My words, but I tell you the truth. Even you, an educated and respected man among your people, must be reborn by the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. 8 The wind[b] blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it, but we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up. Life in the Spirit is as if it were the wind of God.
Nicodemus: 9 I still do not understand how this can be.
Jesus: 10 Your responsibility is to instruct Israel in matters of faith, but you do not comprehend the necessity of life in the Spirit? 11 I tell you the truth: we speak about the things we know, and we give evidence about the things we have seen, and you choose to reject the truth of our witness. 12 If you do not believe when I talk to you about ordinary, earthly realities, then heavenly realities will certainly elude you. 13 No one has ever journeyed to heaven above except the One who has come down from heaven—the Son of Man, who is of heaven. 14 Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. In the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up; 15 then all those who believe in Him will experience everlasting life.
16 For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. 17 Here’s the point. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction.
18 No one who believes in Him has to fear condemnation, yet condemnation is already the reality for everyone who refuses to believe because they reject the name of the only Son of God. 19 Why does God allow for judgment and condemnation? Because the Light, sent from God, pierced through the world’s darkness to expose ill motives, hatred, gossip, greed, violence, and the like. Still some people preferred the darkness over the light because their actions were dark. 20 Some of humankind hated the light. They scampered hurriedly back into the darkness where vices thrive and wickedness flourishes. 21 Those who abandon deceit and embrace what is true, they will enter into the light where it will be clear that all their deeds come from God.
Jesus makes the point clear: stay connected to Him, and have no reason to fear. Jesus doesn’t mean that at the instant someone has faith, fear simply vanishes or only good things happen in that person’s life. In fact, the blessings that come with eternal life often have nothing to do with present or future circumstances, but they have everything to do with the individual’s connections to God and others. That is John’s message to his listeners. God came to earth embodied in flesh, and then He reached His greatest acclaim through a torturous death. If this is all true, then believers will find strength and beauty in places never imagined. Abiding in Jesus the Anointed is the good life, regardless of the external circumstances.
22 Not long after, Jesus and His disciples traveled to the Judean countryside where they could enjoy one another’s company and ritually cleanse new followers through baptism.[c] 23-24 About the same time, Jesus’ cousin John—the wandering prophet who had not yet been imprisoned—was upriver at Aenon near Salim baptizing scores of people in the abundant waters there. 25 John’s activities raised questions about the nature of purification among his followers and a religious leader, 26 so they approached him with their questions.
John’s Followers: Teacher, the One who was with you earlier on the other side of the Jordan, the One whom you have been pointing to, is baptizing[d] the multitudes who are coming to Him.
John the Baptist: 27 Apart from the gifts that come from heaven, no one can receive anything at all. 28 I have said it many times, and you have heard me—I am not the Anointed One; I am the one who comes before Him. 29 If you are confused, consider this: the groom is the one with the bride. The best man takes his place close by and listens for him. When he hears the voice of the groom, he is swept up in the joy of the moment. So hear me. My joy could not be more complete. 30 He, the groom, must take center stage; and I, the best man, must step to His side.
31 If someone comes from heaven above, he ranks above it all and speaks of heavenly things. If someone comes from earth, he speaks of earthly things. The One from the heavens is superior; He is over all. 32 He reveals the mysteries seen and realities heard of the heavens above, but no one below is listening. 33 Those who are listening and accept His witness to these truths have gone on record. They acknowledge the fact that God is true! 34 The One sent from God speaks with the very words of God and abounds with the very Spirit and essence of God. 35 The Father loves the Son and withholds nothing from Him. 36 Those who believe in the Son will bask in eternal life, but those who disobey the Son will never experience life. They will know only God’s lingering wrath.
John 3
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
3 Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews,
2 Who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles—and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him.
3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb again and be born?
5 Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [[a]even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.(A)
6 What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not [do not be surprised, astonished] at My telling you, You must all be born anew (from above).
8 The wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered by asking, How can all this be possible?
10 Jesus replied, Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet do not know nor understand these things? [Are they strange to you?]
11 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, We speak only of what we know [we know absolutely what we are talking about]; we have actually seen what we are testifying to [we were eyewitnesses of it]. And still you do not receive our testimony [you reject and refuse our evidence—that of Myself and of all those who are born of the Spirit].
12 If I have told you of things that happen right here on the earth and yet none of you believes Me, how can you believe (trust Me, adhere to Me, rely on Me) if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And yet no one has ever gone up to heaven, but there is One Who has come down from heaven—the Son of Man [Himself], [b]Who is (dwells, has His home) in heaven.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must [so it is necessary that] the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross],(B)
15 In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may [c]not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever!
16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([d]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]
19 The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.(C)
20 For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved.
21 But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence upon Him].
22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the land (the countryside) of Judea, where He remained with them, and baptized.
23 But John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, for there was an abundance of water there, and the people kept coming and being baptized.
24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Therefore there arose a controversy between some of John’s disciples and a Jew in regard to purification.
26 So they came to John and reported to him, Rabbi, the Man Who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [[e]at the Jordan crossing]—and to Whom you yourself have borne testimony—notice, here He is baptizing too, and everybody is flocking to Him!
27 John answered, A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing, he can [f]take unto himself nothing] except as it has been granted to him from heaven. [A man must be content to receive the gift which is given him from heaven; there is no other source.]
28 You yourselves are my witnesses [you personally bear me out] that I stated, I am not the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), but I have [only] been sent before Him [in advance of Him, to be His appointed forerunner, His messenger, His announcer].(D)
29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the groomsman who stands by and listens to him rejoices greatly and heartily on account of the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete.(E)
30 He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.](F)
31 He Who comes from above (heaven) is [far] above all [others]; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth [his words are from an earthly standpoint]. He Who comes from heaven is [far] above all others [far superior to all others in prominence and in excellence].
32 It is to what He has [actually] seen and heard that He bears testimony, and yet no one accepts His testimony [no one receives His evidence as true].
33 Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal of approval to this: God is true. [That man has definitely certified, acknowledged, declared once and for all, and is himself assured that it is divine truth that God cannot lie].
34 For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God’s own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!(G)
35 The Father loves the Son and has given (entrusted, committed) everything into His hand.(H)
36 And he who believes in (has faith in, clings to, relies on) the Son has (now possesses) eternal life. But whoever disobeys (is unbelieving toward, refuses to trust in, disregards, is not subject to) the Son will never see (experience) life, but [instead] the wrath of God abides on him. [God’s displeasure remains on him; His indignation hangs over him continually.](I)
Footnotes
- John 3:5 The Greek “kai” (“and”) may be rendered “even.”
- John 3:13 Some manuscripts add this phrase.
- John 3:15 Some manuscripts add this phrase.
- John 3:16 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
- John 3:26 George M. Lamsa, The New Testament.
- John 3:27 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
Juan 3
La Palabra (España)
Conversación con Nicodemo
3 Un miembro del partido de los fariseos, llamado Nicodemo, persona relevante entre los judíos, 2 fue una noche a ver a Jesús y le dijo:
— Maestro, sabemos que Dios te ha enviado para enseñarnos; nadie, en efecto, puede realizar los milagros que tú haces si Dios no está con él.
3 Jesús le respondió:
— Pues yo te aseguro que sólo el que nazca de nuevo podrá alcanzar el reino de Dios.
4 Nicodemo repuso:
— ¿Cómo es posible que alguien ya viejo vuelva a nacer? ¿Acaso puede volver a entrar en el seno materno para nacer de nuevo?
5 Jesús le contestó:
— Te aseguro que nadie puede entrar en el reino de Dios si no nace del agua y del Espíritu. 6 Lo que nace de la carne es carnal; lo que nace del Espíritu es espiritual. 7 No te cause, pues, tanta sorpresa si te he dicho que debéis nacer de nuevo. 8 El viento sopla donde quiere; oyes su rumor, pero no sabes ni de dónde viene ni a dónde va. Lo mismo sucede con el que nace del Espíritu.
9 Nicodemo preguntó:
— ¿Cómo puede ser eso?
10 Jesús le respondió:
— ¡Cómo! ¿Tú eres maestro en Israel e ignoras estas cosas? 11 Te aseguro que nosotros hablamos de lo que sabemos y damos testimonio de lo que hemos visto; con todo, vosotros rechazáis nuestro testimonio. 12 Si os hablo de cosas terrenas y no me creéis, ¿cómo me creeréis cuando os hable de las cosas del cielo? 13 Nadie ha subido al cielo, excepto el que bajó de allí, es decir, el Hijo del hombre. 14 Lo mismo que Moisés levantó la serpiente de bronce en el desierto, el Hijo del hombre tiene que ser levantado en alto, 15 para que todo el que crea en él tenga vida eterna.
16 Tanto amó Dios al mundo, que no dudó en entregarle a su Hijo único, para que todo el que crea en él no perezca, sino tenga vida eterna. 17 Pues no envió Dios a su Hijo para dictar sentencia de condenación contra el mundo, sino para que por medio de él se salve el mundo. 18 El que cree en el Hijo no será condenado; en cambio, el que no cree en él, ya está condenado por no haber creído en el Hijo único de Dios. 19 La causa de esta condenación está en que, habiendo venido la luz al mundo, los seres humanos prefirieron las tinieblas a la luz, pues su conducta era mala. 20 En efecto, todos los que se comportan mal, detestan y rehuyen la luz, por miedo a que su conducta quede al descubierto. 21 En cambio, los que actúan conforme a la verdad buscan la luz para que aparezca con toda claridad que es Dios quien inspira sus acciones.
Nuevo testimonio del Bautista
22 Después de esto, Jesús fue con sus discípulos a la región de Judea. Se detuvo allí algún tiempo con ellos y bautizaba a la gente. 23 Juan estaba también bautizando en Ainón, cerca de Salín; había en aquel lugar agua en abundancia y la gente acudía a bautizarse, 24 pues Juan aún no había sido encarcelado. 25 Surgió entonces una discusión entre los discípulos de Juan y un judío acerca de los ritos purificatorios. 26 Con este motivo se acercaron a Juan y le dijeron:
— Maestro, el que estaba contigo en la otra orilla del Jordán y en cuyo favor diste testimonio, ahora está bautizando y todos se van tras él.
27 Juan respondió:
— El ser humano sólo puede recibir lo que Dios quiera darle. 28 Vosotros mismos sois testigos de lo que yo dije entonces: “No soy el Mesías; simplemente he sido enviado como su precursor.” 29 La esposa pertenece al esposo. En cuanto al amigo del esposo, el que está junto a él, lo escucha y se alegra extraordinariamente al oír la voz del esposo. Por eso, en este momento mi alegría se ha colmado. 30 Él debe brillar cada vez más, mientras yo he de ir quedando en la sombra.
El que viene de Dios
31 El que viene de lo alto está por encima de todos. El que tiene su origen en la tierra es terreno y habla de las cosas de la tierra; el que viene del cielo está por encima de todos 32 y da testimonio de lo que ha visto y oído; sin embargo, nadie acepta su testimonio. 33 El que acepta su testimonio reconoce que Dios dice la verdad. 34 Porque, cuando habla aquel a quien Dios ha enviado, es Dios mismo quien habla, ya que Dios le ha comunicado plenamente su Espíritu. 35 El Padre ama al Hijo y ha puesto todas las cosas en sus manos. 36 El que cree en el Hijo, tiene vida eterna; pero quien no cree en él, no experimentará esa vida, sino que está bajo el peso de la ira de Dios.
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