John 3

JESUS AND NICODEMUS

3There was a man from the Pharisees^l named Nicodemus,^m a rulerⁿ of the Jews. ²This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi,^o we know that you are a teacher^p who has come from God,^q for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.”^r

³Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again,^s he cannot see the kingdom of God.”^t

⁴“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?”

⁵Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born^u of water and the Spirit,^v he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶Whatever is born of the flesh^w is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit^x is spirit. ⁷Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born^y again. ⁸The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.^z So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^aa

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

¹⁰“Are you a teacher^B of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied. ¹¹“Truly I tell you,^ab we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended^ac into heaven^ad except the one who descended from heaven^ae—the Son of Man.^Caf

¹⁴“Just as Moses^ag lifted up the snake in the wilderness,^ah so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him may^D have eternal life.^{ai 16}For God loved^aj the world in this way:^E He gave^F his one and only^ak Son,^al so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.^{am 17}For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn^an the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned,^ao because he has not believed in the name^ap of the one and only Son^aq of God. ¹⁹This is the judgment: The light^ar has come into the world,^as and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does evil hates^at the light and avoids it,^G so that his deeds^au may not be exposed. ²¹But anyone who lives by^H the truth comes to the light, so that his works^av may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST

²²After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent time with them and baptized.

²³John^aw also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, ²⁴since John had not yet been thrown into prison.^ax

²⁵Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples^ay and a Jew^A about purification.^{az 26}So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi,^ba the one you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan,^bb is baptizing—and everyone is going to him.”^bc

²⁷John responded, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,^bd but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’^{be 29}He who has the bride^a is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly^B at the groom’s voice. So this joy^a of mine is complete. ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.”

THE ONE FROM HEAVEN

³¹The one who comes from above^b is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms.^C The one who comes from heaven is above all.^{c 32}He testifies^d to what he has seen and heard, and yet no one accepts his testimony. ³³The one who has accepted his testimony has affirmed that God is true.^{e 34}For the one whom God sent speaks God’s words, since he^D gives the Spirit^f without measure. ³⁵The Father loves the Son^g and has given all things into his hands.^{h 36}The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son^E will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.ⁱ