The New Birth

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named ^(A)Nicodemus, a ^(B)ruler of the Jews; ² this man came to ^[a]Jesus at night and said to Him, “^(C)Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these ^[b](D)signs that You do unless ^(E)God is with him.” ³ Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone ^(F)is born ^[c]again he cannot see ^(G)the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of ^(H)water and the Spirit, he cannot enter ^(I)the kingdom of God. ^6 (J)That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born ^[d]again.’ ^8 (K)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “You are ^(L)the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(M)we speak of what we know and ^(N)testify of what we have seen, and ^(O)you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (P)No one has ascended into heaven, except ^(Q)He who descended from heaven: ^(R)the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as ^(S)Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must ^(T)the Son of Man ^(U)be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who ^[e]believes will ^(V)have eternal life in Him.

¹⁶ “For God so ^(W)loved the world, that He ^(X)gave His ^(Y)only Son, so that everyone who ^(Z)believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God ^(AA)did not send the Son into the world ^(AB)to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. ^18 (AC)The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of ^(AD)the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that ^(AE)the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for ^(AF)their deeds were evil. ^20 (AG)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. ²¹ But the one who ^(AH)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed ^[f]as having been performed in God.”

John the Baptist’s Last Testimony

²² After these things Jesus and His ^(AI)disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He was spending time with them and ^(AJ)baptizing. ²³ Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized— ²⁴ for ^(AK)John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about ^[g](AL)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “^(AM)Rabbi, He who was with you ^(AN)beyond the Jordan, to whom you ^(AO)have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.” ²⁷ John replied, “^(AP)A person can receive not even one thing unless it ^(AQ)has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves ^[h]are my witnesses that I said, ‘^(AR)I am not the ^[i]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is ^(AS)the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this ^(AT)joy of mine has been made full. ³⁰ He must ^[j]increase, but I must ^[k]decrease.

³¹ “^(AU)He who comes from above is above all; ^(AV)the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. ^(AW)He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² What He has seen and heard, of this He ^(AX)testifies; and ^(AY)no one accepts His testimony. ³³ The one who has accepted His testimony ^(AZ)has certified that God is true. ³⁴ For He whom God ^(BA)sent speaks the words of God; ^(BB)for He does not give the Spirit ^[l]sparingly. ^35 (BC)The Father loves the Son and ^(BD)has entrusted all things to His hand. ³⁶ The one who ^(BE)believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who ^(BF)does not ^[m]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Five Thousand Men Fed

6 After these things ^(A)Jesus went away to the other side of ^(B)the Sea of Galilee (or ^(C)Tiberias). ² A large crowd was following Him, because they were watching the ^[a](D)signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ But ^(E)Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. ⁴ Now ^(F)the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to ^(G)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” ⁶ But He was saying this only to ^(H)test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do. ^7 (I)Philip answered Him, “^(J)Two hundred ^[b]denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!” ⁸ One of His ^(K)disciples, ^(L)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two ^(M)fish; but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was ^(N)plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about ^[c](O)five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and ^(P)after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the ^(Q)fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, He *said to His ^(R)disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve ^(S)baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the ^[d]sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the ^(T)Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁵ So Jesus, aware that they ^[e]intended to come and take Him by force ^(U)to make Him king, ^(V)withdrew again to ^(W)the mountain by Himself, alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His ^(X)disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea ^(Y)to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ In addition, the sea began getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about ^[f]twenty-five or thirty stadia, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He *said to them, “It is I; ^[g](Z)do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

²² The next day ^(AA)the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus ^(AB)had not gotten into the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had departed alone. ²³ Other small boats came from ^(AC)Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the ^(AD)Lord ^(AE)had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and ^(AF)came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “^(AG)Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Words to the People

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you ^(AH)seek Me, not because you saw ^[h](AI)signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not ^(AJ)work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for ^(AK)eternal life, which ^(AL)the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, ^(AM)has set His ^[i]seal.” ²⁸ Therefore they said to Him, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is ^(AN)the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He ^(AO)has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to Him, “^(AP)What then are You doing as a ^(AQ)sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work are You performing? ^31 (AR)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘^(AS)He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^[j]that which ^(AT)comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, always ^(AU)give us this bread.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “^(AV)I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me ^(AW)will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But ^(AX)I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. ^37 (AY)Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. ³⁸ For ^(AZ)I have come down from heaven, ^(BA)not to do My own will, but ^(BB)the will of Him who ^(BC)sent Me. ³⁹ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of ^(BD)everything that He has given Me I will ^(BE)lose nothing, but will ^(BF)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who ^(BG)sees the Son and ^(BH)believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will ^(BI)raise him up on the last day.”

Words to the Jews

^41 (BJ)So then the Jews were complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that ^(BK)came down out of heaven.” ⁴² And they were saying, “^(BL)Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(BM)we know? How does He now say, ‘^(BN)I have come down out of heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop complaining among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(BO)draws him; and I will ^(BP)raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written ^(BQ)in the Prophets: ‘^(BR)And they shall all be ^(BS)taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. ^46 (BT)Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes ^(BU)has eternal life. ^48 (BV)I am the bread of life. ^49 (BW)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that ^(BX)comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and ^(BY)not die. ^51 (BZ)I am the living bread that ^(CA)came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, ^(CB)he will live forever; and the bread which I will give ^(CC)for the life of the world also is ^(CD)My flesh.”

^52 (CE)Then the Jews ^(CF)began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(CG)the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will ^(CH)raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(CI)remains in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the ^(CJ)living Father ^(CK)sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that ^(CL)came down out of heaven, not as ^(CM)the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread ^(CN)will live forever.”

Words to the Disciples

⁵⁹ These things He said ^(CO)in the synagogue as He taught ^(CP)in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ So then many of His ^(CQ)disciples, when they heard this, said, “^(CR)This statement is very ^[k]unpleasant; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(CS)aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this ^[l](CT)offensive to you? ⁶² What then if you see ^(CU)the Son of Man ^(CV)ascending to where He was before? ^63 (CW)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; ^(CX)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are ^(CY)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus ^(CZ)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and ^(DA)who it was who would ^[m]betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He was saying, “For this reason I have ^(DB)told you that no one can come to Me unless ^(DC)it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter’s Confession of Faith

⁶⁶ As a result of this many of His ^(DD)disciples ^(DE)left, and would no longer walk with Him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(DF)the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” ^68 (DG)Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(DH)words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ And we have already believed and have come to know that You are ^(DI)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “^(DJ)Did I Myself not choose you, ^(DK)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(DL)a devil.” ⁷¹ Now He meant Judas ^(DM)the son of Simon Iscariot; for he, ^(DN)one of ^(DO)the twelve, ^[n]was going to betray Him.