¹³ who ^(A)were born, ^(B)not of blood ^(C)nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

^18 (A)Of his own will he ^(B)brought us forth by the word of truth, ^(C)that we should be a kind of ^(D)firstfruits of his creatures.

^9 (A)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[a] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.

^23 (A)since you have been born again, ^(B)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(C)the living and abiding word of God;

Born Again to a Living Hope

^3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(B)According to his great mercy, ^(C)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(D)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ^(A)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ^6 (B)That which is born of the flesh is ^(C)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^{[a] 7 (D)}Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^[b] must be born ^(E)again.’ ^8 (F)The wind^[c] blows ^(G)where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(A)when he appears ^(B)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(C)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(D)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(E)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

⁴ For ^(A)everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^(B)our faith.

⁵ he saved us, ^(A)not because of works done by us in righteousness, but ^(B)according to his own mercy, by ^(C)the washing of regeneration and ^(D)renewal of the Holy Spirit,