John 3:1-17 English Standard Version

You Must Be Born Again

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named ^(A)Nicodemus, ^(B)a ruler of the Jews. ²This man came to Jesus^[a] ^(C)by night and said to him, ^(D)“Rabbi, ^(E)we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do ^(F)unless God is with him.” ³Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is ^(G)born ^(H)again^[b] he cannot ^(I)see the kingdom of God.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ^(J)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶^(K)That which is born of the flesh is ^(L)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^[c] ⁷^(M)Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^[d] must be born ^(N)again.’ ⁸^(O)The wind^[e] blows ^(P)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.”

⁹Nicodemus said to him, ^(Q)“How can these things be?” ¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel ^(R)and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(S)we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but ^(T)you^[f] do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³^(U)No one has ^(V)ascended into heaven except ^(W)he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^[g] ¹⁴And ^(X)as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ^(Y)be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes ^(Z)in him ^(AA)may have eternal life.^[h]

For God So Loved the World

¹⁶“For ^(AB)God so loved ^(AC)the world,^[i] ^(AD)that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not ^(AE)perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For ^(AF)God did not send his Son into the world ^(AG)to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

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Footnotes

John 3:2 Greek him
John 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7
John 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
John 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here
John 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
John 3:11 The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12
John 3:13 Some manuscripts add who is in heaven
John 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15
John 3:16 Or For this is how God loved the world