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John 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a man from the Pharisees(A) named Nicodemus,(B) a ruler(C) of the Jews. 2 This man came to Him at night and said, “Rabbi,(D) we know that You have come from God(E) as a teacher,(F) for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him.”(G)

3 Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again,[a](H) he cannot see the kingdom of God.”(I)

4 “But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

5 Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born(J) of water and the Spirit,[b](K) he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh(L) is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit(M) is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you[c] must be born(N) again. 8 The wind[d] blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.(O) So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”(P)

9 “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.

10 “Are you a teacher[e] of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied. 11 “I assure you:(Q) We speak what We know and We testify to what We have seen, but you[f] do not accept Our testimony.[g] 12 If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of heaven? 13 No one has ascended(R) into heaven(S) except the One who descended from heaven(T)—the Son of Man.[h](U) 14 Just as Moses(V) lifted up the snake in the wilderness,(W) so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him will[i] have eternal life.(X)

16 “For God loved(Y) the world in this way:[j] He gave His One and Only(Z) Son,(AA) so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.(AB) 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn(AC) the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned,(AD) because he has not believed in the name(AE) of the One and Only Son(AF) of God.

19 “This, then, is the judgment: The light(AG) has come into the world,(AH) and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who practices wicked things hates(AI) the light and avoids it,[k] so that his deeds(AJ) may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by[l] the truth comes to the light, so that his works(AK) may be shown to be accomplished by God.”[m]

Jesus and John the Baptist

22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went to the Judean countryside, where He spent time with them and baptized. 23 John(AL) also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, 24 since John had not yet been thrown into prison.(AM)

25 Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples(AN) and a Jew[n] about purification.(AO) 26 So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi,(AP) the One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan,(AQ) is baptizing—and everyone is flocking to Him.”(AR)

27 John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,(AS) but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’(AT) 29 He who has the bride(AU) is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly[o] at the groom’s voice. So this joy(AV) of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The One from Heaven

31 The One who comes from above(AW) is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms.[p] The One who comes from heaven is above all.(AX) 32 He testifies(AY) to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true.(AZ) 34 For God sent Him, and He speaks God’s words, since He[q] gives the Spirit(BA) without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son(BB) and has given all things into His hands.(BC) 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.(BD)

Footnotes

  1. John 3:3 The same Gk word can mean again or from above (also in v. 7).
  2. John 3:5 Or spirit, or wind; the Gk word pneuma can mean wind, spirit, or Spirit, each of which occurs in this context.
  3. John 3:7 The pronoun is pl in Gk.
  4. John 3:8 The Gk word pneuma can mean wind, spirit, or Spirit, each of which occurs in this context.
  5. John 3:10 Or the teacher
  6. John 3:11 In Gk, the word you is pl here and throughout v. 12.
  7. John 3:11 The pronouns we and our refer to Jesus and His authority to speak for the Father.
  8. John 3:13 Other mss add who is in heaven
  9. John 3:15 Other mss add not perish, but
  10. John 3:16 The Gk word houtos, commonly translated in Jn 3:16 as “so” or “so much” occurs over 200 times in the NT. Almost without exception it is an adverb of manner, not degree (for example, see Mt 1:18). It only means “so much” when modifying an adjective (see Gl 3:3; Rv 16:18). Manner seems primarily in view in Jn 3:16, which explains the HCSB‘s rendering.
  11. John 3:20 Lit and does not come to the light
  12. John 3:21 Lit who does
  13. John 3:21 It is possible that Jesus’ words end at v. 15. Ancient Gk did not have quotation marks.
  14. John 3:25 Other mss read and the Jews
  15. John 3:29 Lit with joy rejoices
  16. John 3:31 Or of earthly things
  17. John 3:34 Other mss read since God
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John 3
EasyEnglish Bible

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a Pharisee called Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish leaders. 2 He came to speak with Jesus at night. He said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that God has sent you to us. We have seen the miracles that you are doing. Nobody could do these things unless God was with him.’ 3 Jesus replied, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born from above, they cannot understand the kingdom of God.’ 4 Nicodemus asked, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot return into his mother's body. He cannot be born a second time.’ 5 Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom of God. 6 People give birth to what is human. But God's Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 I said to you, “You must be born from above.” What I said should not surprise you. 8 When someone is born by God's Spirit, it is like the wind that blows. The wind blows wherever it chooses to blow. You can hear it. But you do not know where it came from or where it is going.’

9 Nicodemus asked, ‘How can this happen?’ 10 Jesus replied, ‘You are an important teacher of people in Israel. You ought to understand these things! 11 I tell you this: We speak about things that we know. We tell you about what we have seen. But even then, you people do not believe our message. 12 I have told you about things that happen in this world. And you do not believe me. But now I am telling you about things that happen in heaven. So I do not think that you will ever believe me about those things. 13 The Son of Man came down from heaven. Nobody else has gone up to heaven except him. 14 Long ago Moses lifted up the metal snake in the wilderness to save his people.[a] In the same way, people must lift up the Son of Man on a cross. 15 As a result, everyone who believes him will be able to live for ever with God. 16 God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live for ever with God.’

17 God did not send his Son into the world because he wanted to punish people. He sent his Son to save the people in the world from punishment. 18 God will not punish anyone who believes in his Son. But if people refuse to believe in the Son, God has already decided that he must punish them. They have not believed in God's one and only Son. 19 God's Son has brought light into the world. But some people did not love the light. They loved the dark instead. That was because they were doing evil things. That is why God has decided to punish those people. 20 Everyone who does evil things hates the light. A person like that will not come to the light because he is afraid. He does not want the bad things that he has done to show clearly. 21 But anyone who does what is true will come to the light. The light will show clearly that he has been doing what is right. Everyone can see that he has been obeying God.

Jesus and John the Baptist

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the country places in Judea. Jesus stayed there with his disciples for some time, and they baptized people there. 23 John was also baptizing people. He was at a place called Aenon, near Salim, because there was a lot of water there. People were coming to him and John was baptizing them. 24 (This happened before the rulers put John in prison.) 25 John's disciples began to argue with a certain Jew about some Jewish rules. Those rules told people how they should wash properly. 26 The disciples then came to John. They said to him, ‘Teacher, remember the man, Jesus, that you spoke to us about. He was with you on the other side of the Jordan River. Now he is baptizing people and everyone is going to him.’

27 John replied, ‘A man can receive only what God gives to him, nothing else. 28 You yourselves will remember that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but God sent me to prepare things for the Messiah.”[b] 29 When a man marries a wife, she belongs to him. The man's special friend listens carefully. He wants to know when the man will arrive. That friend is very happy when he hears the man's voice. I am like that friend, so I am completely happy now. 30 Jesus must become greater, but I must become less important.

31 The one who comes from above is greater than all things. A person who comes from the earth belongs to the earth. A person like that speaks only about things that belong to the earth. But the one who comes from heaven is greater than all things. 32 He tells people about the things that he has seen. He tells about what he has heard. But people do not believe his message. 33 Anyone who does believe his message agrees that God is true. 34 The one that God has sent speaks God's words. God has given his Spirit to fill that person completely. 35 The Father loves the Son. He has given his Son authority over all things. 36 Anyone who believes in the Son has life with God for ever. But anyone who refuses to obey the Son will never have life with God. God will continue to be angry with people like that.’

Footnotes

  1. 3:14 See Numbers 21:4-9.
  2. 3:28 John the Baptist said that God sent him before the Lord Jesus Christ. He was like someone who brings a message from a king. He had to tell people that the king was coming to visit them. The prophet Malachi had told Israel's people that someone would come before the Christ. This person would tell them that their Messiah (Christ) would come soon.
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