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But there was a man from among the Pharisees, his name Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

he came to him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God, for none can do these signs that thou doest unless God be with him.

Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except any one be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be born being old? can he enter a second time into the womb of his mother and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not wonder that I said to thee, It is needful that *ye* should be born anew.

The wind blows where it will, and thou hearest its voice, but knowest not whence it comes and where it goes: thus is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus answered and said to him, How can these things be?

10 Jesus answered and said to him, Thou art the teacher of Israel and knowest not these things!

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and we bear witness of that which we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have said the earthly things to you, and ye believe not, how, if I say the heavenly things to you, will ye believe?

13 And no one has gone up into heaven, save he who came down out of heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, thus must the Son of man be lifted up,

15 that every one who believes on him may [not perish, but] have life eternal.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal.

17 For God has not sent his Son into the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him.

18 He that believes on him is not judged: but he that believes not has been already judged, because he has not believed on the name of the only-begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light; for their works were evil.

20 For every one that does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light that his works may not be shewn as they are;

21 but he that practises the truth comes to the light, that his works may be manifested that they have been wrought in God.

22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he abode with them and baptised.

23 And John also was baptising in Aenon, near Salim, because there was a great deal of water there; and they came to [him] and were baptised:

24 for John was not yet cast into prison.

25 There was therefore a reasoning of the disciples of John with a Jew about purification.

26 And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, he baptises, and all come to him.

27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it be given him out of heaven.

28 Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him.

29 He that has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices in heart because of the voice of the bridegroom: this my joy then is fulfilled.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who has his origin in the earth is of the earth, and speaks [as] of the earth. He who comes out of heaven is above all,

32 [and] what he has seen and has heard, this he testifies; and no one receives his testimony.

33 He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true;

34 for he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure.

35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things [to be] in his hand.

36 He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him.

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus(A) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.(B) He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,(C) we know(D) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs(E) you are doing if God were not with him.”(F)

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a](G)

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.(H) Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit.(I) You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d](J)

“How can this be?”(K) Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,”(L) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,(M) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.(N) 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven(O) except the one who came from heaven(P)—the Son of Man.[e](Q) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,(R) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f](S) 15 that everyone who believes(T) may have eternal life in him.”[g](U)

16 For God so loved(V) the world that he gave(W) his one and only Son,(X) that whoever believes(Y) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(Z) 17 For God did not send his Son into the world(AA) to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.(AB) 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,(AC) but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.(AD) 19 This is the verdict: Light(AE) has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.(AF) 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.(AG) 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

John Testifies Again About Jesus

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.(AH) 23 Now John(AI) also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)(AJ) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.(AK) 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi,(AL) that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified(AM) about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’(AN) 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom.(AO) The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.(AP) 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[h]

31 The one who comes from above(AQ) is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.(AR) The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard,(AS) but no one accepts his testimony.(AT) 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent(AU) speaks the words of God, for God[i] gives the Spirit(AV) without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.(AW) 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,(AX) but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Footnotes

  1. John 3:3 The Greek for again also means from above; also in verse 7.
  2. John 3:6 Or but spirit
  3. John 3:7 The Greek is plural.
  4. John 3:8 The Greek for Spirit is the same as that for wind.
  5. John 3:13 Some manuscripts Man, who is in heaven
  6. John 3:14 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
  7. John 3:15 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 21.
  8. John 3:30 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 36.
  9. John 3:34 Greek he