John 3:1-21

Modern English Version

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a man is born again,^[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ 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?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ 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 who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can this be?”

¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, but you do not know these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly I say to you, We speak of what We know and bear witness of what We have seen, but you do not receive Our testimony. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended to heaven except He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but may have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ This is the verdict, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that it may be revealed that his deeds have been done in God.”