There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the 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.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

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

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

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

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

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

23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

24 For John was not yet cast into prison.

25 Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.

26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from 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 hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Isus i Nikodem

Neki je čovjek, Nikodem, bio farizej i jedan od židovskih vođa. Noću je došao k Isusu i rekao mu: »Učitelju, znamo da si učitelj poslan od Boga jer nitko ne može činiti čudesne znakove koje ti činiš, a da Bog nije s njim.«

Isus mu je odgovorio: »Govorim ti istinu: tko se ponovo ne rodi, ne može vidjeti Božje kraljevstvo.«

»Kako se čovjek može roditi kad je star?« pitao je Nikodem. »Sigurno ne može drugi put ući u majčinu utrobu da bi se rodio.«

Isus mu odgovori: »Govorim ti istinu, ako se čovjek ne rodi od vode i Duha, ne može ući u Božje kraljevstvo. Što je rođeno od čovjeka—čovjek je; što je rođeno od Duha—duh je. Nemoj se čuditi mojim riječima: ‘Moraš se ponovo roditi’. Vjetar puše gdje god hoće. Možeš mu čuti šum, ali ne znaš ni odakle dolazi ni kamo ide. Tako je i sa svakim tko je rođen od Duha.«

»Kako je to uopće moguće?« upitao ga je Nikodem.

10 Isus mu je odgovorio: »Ti si učitelj u Izraelu, a još ne razumiješ o čemu ti govorim. 11 Govorim ti istinu. Govorimo o onome što znamo i prenosimo ono što smo vidjeli, ali vi ne prihvaćate što vam govorimo. 12 Govorio sam vam o zemaljskim stvarima i vi ne vjerujete. Pa kako ćete vjerovati kad vam budem govorio o nebeskima? 13 Nitko nikada nije uzašao na Nebo, osim Sina Čovječjeg, koji je i sišao s Neba.

14 Baš kao što je Mojsije podigao zmiju u pustinji,[a] tako mora biti podignut i Sin Čovječji, 15 da bi svatko tko u njega vjeruje, imao vječni život.«

16 Jer, Bog je toliko ljubio svijet da je dao svoga Sina jedinca da ne umre nitko tko u njega vjeruje, nego da ima vječni život. 17 Bog nije poslao svoga jedinoga Sina da sudi svijetu, nego da se svijet spasi po njemu. 18 Tko vjeruje u njega, nije osuđen, no onaj tko ne vjeruje, već je osuđen jer nije povjerovao u jedinoga Božjeg Sina. 19 Na ovome se temelji osuda: Svjetlo je došlo na svijet, ali ljudi su više voljeli tamu jer su im djela bila zla. 20 Svatko tko čini zlo, mrzi svjetlo i kloni ga se da njegova djela ne bi bila razotkrivena. 21 No onaj tko radi što je istinito, dolazi k svjetlu da se jasno vidi kako su njegova djela učinjena u Bogu.[b]

Isus i Ivan Krstitelj

22 Nakon toga, Isus je sa svojim učenicima otišao u unutrašnjost Judeje. Ondje je s njima boravio i krstio narod. 23 Ivan je također bio tu i krstio u Enonu, nedaleko od Salima, jer je tamo bilo mnogo vode. Ljudi su neprekidno dolazili i krstili se. 24 Ivan još nije bio bačen u tamnicu.

25 Tada je došlo do rasprave između nekih Ivanovih učenika i nekog Židova o obrednom pranju[c]. 26 Učenici su došli k Ivanu i rekli: »Učitelju, čovjek koji je bio s tobom s druge strane Jordana—onaj o kojem si govorio—on krsti i svi idu k njemu.«

27 Ivan je odgovorio: »Nitko ne može prisvojiti ništa ako mu to ne da Bog. 28 Vi sami možete posvjedočiti da sam rekao: ‘Ja nisam Krist.’ Bog me poslao da navijestim njegov dolazak. 29 Nevjesta pripada mladoženji. Mladoženjin prijatelj stoji sa strane, raduje se, pomaže i iščekuje njegov dolazak. Njegova je radost potpuna kad začuje mladoženjin glas. Takvu radost ja sada osjećam i ona je potpuna. 30 On će biti sve važniji, a ja sve nevažniji.«

Onaj koji dolazi s neba

31 Tko dolazi odozgo, taj je iznad svih. Tko je sa Zemlje, pripada Zemlji i govori o zemaljskim stvarima. Tko dolazi od Boga, taj je iznad svih! 32 On govori o onome što je vidio i čuo, no nitko ne prihvaća njegove riječi. 33 Tko prihvati njegove riječi, taj potvrđuje da je Bog istinit! 34 On, kojeg je poslao Bog, govori Božje riječi jer mu Bog daje Duha bez mjere. 35 Otac ljubi Sina i svu je vlast predao njemu. 36 Tko povjeruje u Sina, ima vječni život. A tko nije poslušan Sinu, neće nikada iskusiti taj život, već Božji gnjev ostaje na njemu.

Footnotes

  1. 3,14 Mojsije … pustinji Kad su Izraelci umirali od ugriza zmija, Bog je rekao Mojsiju da stavi brončanu zmiju na štap kako bi onaj tko u nju pogleda bio ozdravljen. Vidi Br 21,4-9.
  2. 3,21 Redci 16–21 Neki stručnjaci za Bibliju smatraju da su ovo Isusove riječi, dok drugi da su Ivanove.
  3. 3,25 obredno pranje Židovi su pristupali religijskim obredima pranja, na strogo propisane načine, prije jela, prije molitve u Hramu i u nekim posebnim prigodama.

You Must Be Born Again

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named (A)Nicodemus, (B)a ruler of the Jews. This 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.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is (G)born (H)again[b] he cannot (I)see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus 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?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born (J)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (K)That which is born of the flesh is (L)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c] (M)Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born (N)again.’ (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.”

Nicodemus said to him, (Q)“How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel (R)and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, 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. 12 If 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] 14 And (X)as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man (Y)be lifted up, 15 that 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. 17 For (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. 18 (AH)Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not (AI)believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 (AJ)And this is the judgment: (AK)the light has come into the world, and (AL)people loved the darkness rather than the light because (AM)their works were evil. 20 (AN)For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, (AO)lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever (AP)does what is true (AQ)comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and (AR)was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for (AS)John had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over (AT)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, (AU)“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, (AV)to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and (AW)all are going to him.” 27 John answered, (AX)“A person cannot receive even one thing (AY)unless it is given him (AZ)from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (BA)‘I am not the Christ, but (BB)I have been sent before him.’ 29 (BC)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. (BD)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, (BE)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 (BF)He must increase, but I must decrease.”[j]

31 (BG)He who comes from above (BH)is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and (BI)speaks in an earthly way. (BJ)He who comes from heaven (BK)is above all. 32 (BL)He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, (BM)yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony (BN)sets his seal to this, (BO)that God is true. 34 For he whom (BP)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit (BQ)without measure. 35 (BR)The Father loves the Son and (BS)has given all things into his hand. 36 (BT)Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; (BU)whoever does not obey the Son shall not (BV)see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Footnotes

  1. John 3:2 Greek him
  2. John 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7
  3. John 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
  4. John 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here
  5. John 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
  6. John 3:11 The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12
  7. John 3:13 Some manuscripts add who is in heaven
  8. John 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15
  9. John 3:16 Or For this is how God loved the world
  10. John 3:30 Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36

A Pharisee Comes Seeking Truth

Now there was a man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish people. He came to Yeshua at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You, a teacher, have come from God. For no one can perform these signs which You do unless God is with Him!”

Yeshua answered him, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born from above,[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus said to Him. “He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”

Yeshua answered, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit,[b] he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You all must be born from above.’ The wind blows 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 born of the Spirit.”

The Father’s Love Revealed

“How can these things happen?” Nicodemus said.

10 Yeshua answered him, “You’re a teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things? 11 Amen, amen I tell you, We speak about what We know and testify about what We have seen. Yet you all do not receive Our testimony! 12 If you do not believe the earthly things I told you, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has gone up into heaven except the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,[c] so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life!

16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben-Elohim.

19 “Now this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness instead of the light,[d] because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 21 But whoever practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be made known that his deeds have been accomplished in God.”

The Living Word, Source of Life

22 Afterwards, Yeshua and His disciples came to the land of Judea. There He was staying with them and immersing. 23 Now John also was immersing at Aenon near Salim, because much water was there and many were coming and being immersed; 24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

25 Now an argument came up between John’s disciples and a Judean concerning purification. 26 They came to John and said, “Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—look, He is immersing, and all are coming to Him!”

27 John answered, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,’ but rather, ‘I am sent before Him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the best man rejoices when he stands and hears the bridegroom’s voice. So now my joy is complete! 30 He must increase, while I must decrease.”

31 The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaks. The One who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, He testifies to that; yet no one receives His testimony. 33 Whoever receives His testimony has certified that God is true.

34 The One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Ruach without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given everything into His hand. 36 He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Footnotes

  1. John 3:3 Or born again.
  2. John 3:5 cf. Ezek. 36:24-27.
  3. John 3:14 cf. Num. 21:8.
  4. John 3:19 cf. Is. 5:20.