John 3 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council.
1 Ἦν δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων, Νικόδημος ὄνομα αὐτῷ, ἄρχων τῶν Ἰουδαίων.
2 He came at night to where Jesus was and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God, for nobody could do the miraculous signs you're doing unless God was with him.”
2 οὗτος ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ῥαββί, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἐλήλυθας διδάσκαλος· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ταῦτα τὰ σημεῖα δύναται ποιεῖν ἃ σὺ ποιεῖς, ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ ὁ Θεὸς μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ.
3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “Unless you are reborn, you can't experience God's kingdom.”
3 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
4 “How can you be reborn when you're old?” Nicodemus asked. “You can't go back into your mother's womb and be born a second time!”
4 λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;
5 “I tell you the truth, you can't enter God's kingdom unless you are born of water and the Spirit,” Jesus told him.
5 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύματος, οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
6 “What's born of the body is body, and what's born of the Spirit is Spirit.
6 τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστι, καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστι.
7 Don't be surprised at my telling you, ‘You must be reborn.’
7 μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι εἶπόν σοι, δεῖ ὑμᾶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν.
8 The wind blows wherever it wants, and just as you hear the sound it makes, but don't know where it's coming from or where it's going, that's how it is for everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
8 τὸ πνεῦμα ὅπου θέλει πνεῖ, καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἀκούεις, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ οἶδας πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγει· οὕτως ἐστὶ πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος.
9 “How is this possible?” Nicodemus asked.
9 ἀπεκρίθη Νικόδημος καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· πῶς δύναται ταῦτα γενέσθαι;
10 “You're a famous teacher in Israel, and yet you don't understand such things?” Jesus replied.
10 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις;
11 “I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know and give evidence regarding what we have seen, but you refuse to accept our testimony.
11 ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ὅτι ὃ οἴδαμεν λαλοῦμεν καὶ ὃ ἑωράκαμεν μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἡμῶν οὐ λαμβάνετε.
12 If you don't trust what I say when I tell you about earthly things, how would you ever trust what I say if I were to tell you about heavenly things?
12 εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε;
13 No one has gone up to heaven, but the Son of man came down from heaven.
13 καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ.
14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of man must be lifted up,
14 καὶ καθὼς Μωϋσῆς ὕψωσε τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου,
15 so that everyone who trusts in him will have eternal life.
15 ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται, ἀλλ᾽ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
16 For God loved the world, and this is how: he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who trusts in him shouldn't die, but have eternal life.
16 οὕτω γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται, ἀλλ᾽ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
17 God didn't send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
17 οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι᾽ αὐτοῦ.
18 Those who trust in him are not condemned, while those who don't trust in him are condemned already because they didn't trust in the one and only Son of God.
18 ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν οὐ κρίνεται, ὁ δὲ μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται, ὅτι μὴ πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
19 This is how the decision is made: the light came to the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light, for their actions were evil.
19 αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς· ἦν γὰρ πονηρὰ αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα.
20 All those who do evil hate the light and don't come into the light, because they don't want their actions to be exposed.
20 πᾶς γὰρ ὁ φαῦλα πράσσων μισεῖ τὸ φῶς καὶ οὐκ ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχθῇ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ·
21 But those who do good come into the light, so that what God accomplishes in them can be revealed.”
21 ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα φανερωθῇ αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα, ὅτι ἐν Θεῷ ἐστιν εἰργασμένα.
22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into Judea and spent some time with the people, baptizing them.
22 Μετὰ ταῦτα ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν γῆν, καὶ ἐκεῖ διέτριβε μετ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐβάπτιζεν.
23 John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there and people kept coming to be baptized.
23 ἦν δὲ καὶ Ἰωάννης βαπτίζων ἐν Αἰνὼν ἐγγὺς τοῦ Σαλείμ, ὅτι ὕδατα πολλὰ ἦν ἐκεῖ, καὶ παρεγίνοντο καὶ ἐβαπτίζοντο·
24 (This was before John was imprisoned.)
24 οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν ὁ Ἰωάννης.
25 An argument developed between John's disciples and a Jew over ceremonial purification.
25 Ἐγένετο οὖν ζήτησις ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν Ἰωάννου μετὰ Ἰουδαίου περὶ καθαρισμοῦ.
26 They went to John and told him, “Rabbi, the man you were with on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you testified in support of—see, now he's baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”
26 καὶ ἦλθον πρὸς τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ· ῥαββί, ὃς ἦν μετὰ σοῦ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, ᾧ σὺ μεμαρτύρηκας, ἴδε οὗτος βαπτίζει καὶ πάντες ἔρχονται πρὸς αὐτόν.
27 “No one receives anything unless they're given it from heaven,” John replied.
27 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰωάννης καὶ εἶπεν· οὐ δύναται ἄνθρωπος λαμβάνειν οὐδέν, ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.
28 “You yourselves can testify that I declared, ‘I'm not the Messiah. I've been sent to prepare his way.’
28 αὐτοὶ ὑμεῖς μοι μαρτυρεῖτε ὅτι εἶπον· οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ὁ Χριστός, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι ἀπεσταλμένος εἰμὶ ἔμπροσθεν ἐκείνου.
29 The bridegroom is the one who has the bride! The best man waits, listening for the bridegroom, and is so happy when he hears the bridegroom's voice—in the same way my happiness is now complete.
29 ὁ ἔχων τὴν νύμφην νυμφίος ἐστίν· ὁ δὲ φίλος τοῦ νυμφίου, ὁ ἑστηκὼς καὶ ἀκούων αὐτοῦ, χαρᾷ χαίρει διὰ τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ νυμφίου. αὕτη οὖν ἡ χαρὰ ἡ ἐμὴ πεπλήρωται.
30 He must become more important, and I must become less important.”
30 ἐκεῖνον δεῖ αὐξάνειν, ἐμὲ δὲ ἐλαττοῦσθαι.
31 He who comes from above is greater than all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about earthly things. He who comes from heaven is greater than all.
31 ὁ ἄνωθεν ἐρχόμενος ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν. ὁ ὢν ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐστι καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς λαλεῖ· ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐρχόμενος ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστί,
32 He gives evidence about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he has to say.
32 καὶ ὃ ἑώρακε καὶ ἤκουσε, τοῦτο μαρτυρεῖ, καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ οὐδεὶς λαμβάνει.
33 Yet anyone who accepts what he says confirms that God is truthful.
33 ὁ λαβὼν αὐτοῦ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἐσφράγισεν ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθής ἐστιν.
34 For the one God sent speaks God's words, because God doesn't restrict the Spirit.
34 ὃν γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεός, τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ λαλεῖ· οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέτρου δίδωσιν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα.
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
35 ὁ πατὴρ ἀγαπᾷ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ πάντα δέδωκεν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ.
36 Anyone who trusts in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to trust the Son will not experience eternal life but remains under God's condemnation.
36 ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον· ὁ δὲ ἀπειθῶν τῷ υἱῷ οὐκ ὄψεται ζωήν, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Nicodemus
A Pharisee and leader of the Jews who came to Jesus at night, later asked the council to hear Jesus before judging him, and brought myrrh and aloes of about seventy-five pounds…
Cited in the guide: John 3:1; John 7:50; John 19:39
Cross references (36)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 John 19:39; John 3:10; John 7:47–50; Luke 23:13
- 2 John 5:36; Acts 10:38; Acts 2:22; John 9:30–33; John 9:16
- 3 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:5–6; 1 Peter 1:23–25; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 5:1
- 4 1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 1:18; John 4:11–12; John 3:3; John 6:53
- 5 Ezekiel 36:25–27; Ephesians 5:26; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21; 1 Corinthians 6:11
- 6 Galatians 5:16–21; Ezekiel 36:26–27; Romans 8:4–9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 15:47–50
- 7 Ephesians 4:22–24; John 3:3; Romans 12:1–2; 1 Peter 1:22; John 3:12
- 8 Ecclesiastes 11:4–5; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Acts 2:2; Ezekiel 37:9; 1 John 2:29
- 9 Isaiah 42:16; John 6:52; John 6:60; Luke 1:34; John 3:4
- 10 Matthew 22:29; Jeremiah 8:8–9; Ezekiel 11:19; Matthew 15:14; Ezekiel 36:25–27
- 11 John 8:38; 1 John 5:6–12; John 12:49; John 8:14; John 1:18
- 12 1 Corinthians 3:1–2; 1 Corinthians 2:7–9; Hebrews 5:11; John 3:31–36; 1 Peter 2:1–3
- 13 Proverbs 30:4; John 6:38; Acts 2:34; John 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:47
- 14 Numbers 21:7–9; John 8:28; John 12:32–34; Luke 24:26–27; Luke 24:44–46
- 15 John 3:16; John 6:40; 1 John 5:11–13; John 3:36; John 12:44–46
- 16 Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9–10; Romans 8:32; John 3:15; John 11:25–26
- 17 1 John 4:14; Luke 19:10; John 12:47–48; John 6:57; John 6:40
- 18 1 John 5:10; Mark 16:16; Romans 8:1; John 5:24; 1 John 5:12
- 19 John 8:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:12; John 9:39–41; Romans 2:8; John 12:43
- 20 Ephesians 5:11–13; John 7:7; Job 24:13–17; Proverbs 1:29; Proverbs 4:18
- 21 1 John 1:6; Psalm 139:23–24; 3 John 11; Ephesians 5:9; Philippians 2:13
- 22 John 4:1–3; John 3:26; John 7:3
- 23 Mark 1:4–5; Luke 3:7; Ezekiel 43:2; 1 Samuel 9:4; Matthew 3:5–6
- 24 Matthew 4:12; Matthew 14:3; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:19–20; Luke 9:7–9
- 25 John 2:6; Matthew 3:11; Hebrews 6:2; Hebrews 9:10; Hebrews 9:23
- 26 John 1:7; James 3:14–18; John 1:15; Galatians 6:12–13; John 12:19
- 27 James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 1 Peter 4:10–11; Amos 7:15
- 28 John 1:20; John 1:23; Luke 1:16–17; Matthew 3:11–12; Malachi 3:1
- 29 Ephesians 5:25–27; Isaiah 54:5; Hosea 2:19; Matthew 9:15; Ezekiel 16:8
- 30 Colossians 1:18; Psalm 72:17–19; Hebrews 3:2–6; Isaiah 9:7; 1 Corinthians 3:5
- 31 Matthew 28:18; John 8:23; Romans 9:5; John 6:33; 1 John 4:5
- 32 John 3:11; John 15:15; John 1:11; John 8:26; John 5:20
- 33 Ephesians 1:13; Hebrews 6:17; Titus 1:1–2; 2 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 3:3–4
- 34 Acts 10:38; Matthew 12:18; John 15:26; John 5:26; Isaiah 11:2–5
- 35 Matthew 28:18; John 5:20; Luke 10:22; John 5:22; John 17:2
- 36 John 5:24; John 1:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Ephesians 5:6; John 3:15–16
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
We observe, beloved, that the intimation with which we yesterday excited your attention has brought you together with more alacrity, and in greater number than usual; but meanwhile let us, if you please, pay our debt of a discourse on the Gospel Lesson, which comes in due course.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)
Little children who go daily to their teachers receive their lessons, and repeat them, and never cease from this kind of acquisition, but sometimes employ nights as well as days, and this they are compelled to do for perishable and transient things.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 14 (1889)
For Christ also said, "Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Now, that it is impossible for those who have once been born to enter into their mothers' wombs, is manifest to all.
… that men can be saved in no other way from the old wound of the serpent than by believing in Him who, in the likeness of sinful flesh, is lifted up from the earth upon the tree of martyrdom, and draws all things to Himself, and vivifies the dead.
These I directed, O sweet Truth, to Thy inward melody, pondering on the "fair and fit," and longing to stay and listen to Thee, and to rejoice greatly at the Bridegroom's voice, and I could not; for by the voices of my own errors was I driven forth, and by the weight of my own pride was I sinking into …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)