John 3
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Nicodemus, a Ruler of The Jews, Comes To Jesus, And Is Told He Must Be Born Again
3 Now there was a man from the Pharisees— the name for him was Nicodemus— a ruler of the Jews. 2 This one came to Him by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher. For no one is able to be doing these signs which You are doing unless God is with him”. 3 Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you— unless one is born again[a], he is not able to see the kingdom of God”. 4 Nicodemus says to Him, “How is a person able to be born while being an old-man? He is not able to enter a second time into the womb of his mother and be born, is he?” 5 Jesus responded, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water[b] and the Spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God. 6 The thing having been born of the flesh is flesh, and the thing having been born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[c] all must be born again’— 8 the wind blows where it wants, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know from where it comes, and where it is going. So[d] is everyone having been born of the Spirit”. 9 Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How are these[e] things able to happen?” 10 Jesus responded and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you that we are speaking what we know, and we are testifying what we have seen, and you[f] people are not receiving our testimony. 12 If I told you people earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 And no one has gone up into heaven except the One having come down from heaven— the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted-up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up 15 in order that everyone putting-faith in Him may have[g] eternal life.
God Sent His Son Into The World That All Believing In Him May Have Eternal Life
16 “For[h] God so[i] loved the world that He gave His only-born Son, in order that everyone believing in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life. 17 For God did not send-forth the Son into the world in order that He might judge[j] the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one believing in Him is not judged. But the one not believing has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-born Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment[k]: that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their works were evil. 20 For everyone practicing bad things hates the Light, and does not come to the Light in order that his works may not be exposed. 21 But the one doing the truth comes to the Light in order that his works may become-visible— that[l] they have been worked in[m] God”.
Jesus Goes To Judea. John The Baptist Declares Himself The Friend of The Bridegroom
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean land, and there He was spending-time with them and baptizing. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there were many waters[n] there. And they were coming and being baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Then a debate[o] arose from the disciples of John with a Jew about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, concerning Whom you have testified, look— this One is baptizing, and all are going to Him!” 27 John responded and said “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves are testifying concerning me that I said that ‘I am not the Christ’, but that ‘I am one having been sent-forth ahead of that One’. 29 The one having the bride is the bridegroom. And the friend of the bridegroom, the one standing there and hearing him, rejoices with joy[p] because of the voice of the bridegroom. So this[q], my joy, has been made-full. 30 It-is-necessary for that One to grow, and for me to diminish.
Jesus Has Come From Heaven With The Words of God. He Is Above All
31 “The[r] One coming from-above is above[s] all. The one being from the earth is from the earth and is speaking from the earth. The One coming from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and did hear— this He is testifying. And no one is receiving His testimony. 33 The one having received His testimony certified[t] that God is truthful, 34 for He Whom God sent forth is speaking the words of God. For He does not give Him the Spirit from a measure[u]. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things in His hand. 36 The one believing in the Son has eternal life. But the one disobeying[v] the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him”.
Footnotes
- John 3:3 Or, from-above.
- John 3:5 Jesus may be detailing the idea of being born again in v 3, in which case the water refers to the visible aspect of it, that is, baptism; or, Jesus may explain His meaning by the illustration in v 6, water referring to ‘of the flesh’, that is, human birth.
- John 3:7 This word is plural.
- John 3:8 We do not understand the ‘how’ (v 4) of wind; we only see its effects. So it is with the spiritual wind of birth from God (spirit and wind are the same word in Greek).
- John 3:9 That is, this being born again from God.
- John 3:11 This word is plural.
- John 3:15 After the chastisement of v 10-12, and stating the authority for His answer in v 13, Jesus here answers the question of v 9, and then explains it in what follows.
- John 3:16 Jesus may continue speaking in v 16-21; or, these may be John’s words of explanation for us.
- John 3:16 That is, in this manner; or, to such an extent.
- John 3:17 That is, pass judgment upon, execute judgment upon.
- John 3:19 That is, this is God’s present judgment with regard to unbelievers.
- John 3:21 Or, because.
- John 3:21 That is, in union with.
- John 3:23 That is, many streams or springs of water.
- John 3:25 Or, controversy.
- John 3:29 That is, rejoices greatly.
- John 3:29 That is, this friend-of-the-bridegroom kind of joy.
- John 3:31 Verses 31-36 may continue to be the Baptist’s words; or, they may be the apostle John’s comment.
- John 3:31 Or, over.
- John 3:33 Or, attested, set his seal.
- John 3:34 God does not give Jesus a measured manifestation of the Spirit, as He does with all other prophets.
- John 3:36 Or, refusing-to-believe.
John 3
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus and Nicodemus
3 There was a man named Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees. He was an important Jewish leader. 2 One night he came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do these miraculous signs that you do unless they have God’s help.”
3 Jesus answered, “I assure you, everyone must be born again. Anyone who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
4 Nicodemus said, “How can a man who is already old be born again? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?”
5 Jesus answered, “Believe me when I say that everyone must be born from water and the Spirit. Anyone who is not born from water and the Spirit cannot enter God’s kingdom. 6 The only life people get from their human parents is physical. But the new life that the Spirit gives a person is spiritual. 7 Don’t be surprised that I told you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants to. You hear it, but you don’t know where it is coming from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born from the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus asked, “How is all this possible?”
10 Jesus said, “You are an important teacher of Israel, and you still don’t understand these things? 11 The truth is, we talk about what we know. We tell about what we have seen. But you people don’t accept what we tell you. 12 I have told you about things here on earth, but you do not believe me. So I’m sure you will not believe me if I tell you about heavenly things! 13 The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is the one who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.
14 “Moses lifted up the snake in the desert.[a] It is the same with the Son of Man. He must be lifted up too. 15 Then everyone who believes in him can have eternal life.”[b]
16 Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world. He did not send him to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18 People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. But people who do not believe are already judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son. 19 They are judged by this fact: The light[c] has come into the world. But they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light. They will not come to the light, because the light will show all the bad things they have done. 21 But anyone who follows the true way comes to the light. Then the light will show that whatever they have done was done through God.
Jesus and John the Baptizer
22 After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea. There he stayed with his followers and baptized people. 23 John was also baptizing people in Aenon, a place near Salim with plenty of water. People were going there to be baptized. 24 This was before John was put in prison.
25 Some of John’s followers had an argument with another Jew about religious washing.[d] 26 Then they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River? He is the one you were telling everyone about. He is also baptizing people, and many are going to him.”
27 John answered, “A person can receive only what God gives. 28 You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only the one God sent to prepare the way for him.’ 29 The bride always belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who helps the bridegroom just waits and listens. He is happy just to hear the bridegroom talk. That’s how I feel now. I am so happy that he is here. 30 He must become more and more important, and I must become less important.
The One Who Comes From Heaven
31 “The one who comes from above is greater than all others. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth. He talks about things that are on the earth. But the one who comes from heaven is greater than all others. 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but people don’t accept what he says. 33 Whoever accepts what he says has given proof that God speaks the truth. 34 God sent him, and he tells people what God says. God gives him the Spirit fully. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But those who do not obey the Son will never have that life. They cannot get away from God’s anger.”
Footnotes
- John 3:14 Moses lifted … desert When God’s people were dying from snake bites, God told Moses to put a brass snake on a pole for them to look at and be healed. See Num. 21:4-9.
- John 3:15 Some scholars think that Jesus’ words to Nicodemus continue through verse 21.
- John 3:19 light This means Christ, the Word, who brought to the world understanding about God.
- John 3:25 religious washing The Jews had religious rules about washing in special ways before eating, before worshiping in the Temple, and at other special times.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International