John 3:1–36

Jesus and Nicodemus

3There was a man from the Pharisees ^xnamed Nicodemus, ^ya ruler ^zof the Jews. ²This man came to Him at night and said, “Rabbi, ^awe know that You have come from God ^bas a teacher, ^cfor no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him.” ^d

³Jesus replied, “^•I assure you: Unless someone is born again, ^efhe cannot see the kingdom of God.” ^g

⁴“But 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, “I assure you: Unless someone is born ^hof water and the Spirit, ^ijhe cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶Whatever is born of the flesh ^kis flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit ^lis spirit. ⁷Do not be amazed that I told you that you ^mmust be born ⁿagain. ⁸The wind ^oblows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. ^pSo it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” ^q

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

¹⁰“Are you a teacher ^rof Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied. ¹¹“I assure you: ^sWe speak what We know and We testify to what We have seen, but you ^tdo not accept Our testimony. ^u12If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of heaven? ¹³No one has ascended ^vinto heaven ^wexcept the One who descended from heaven ^x—the ^•Son of Man. ^yz14Just as Moses ^alifted up the snake in the wilderness, ^bso the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in Him will ^chave eternal life. ^d

¹⁶“For God loved ^ethe world ^•in this way: ^fHe gave His ^•One and Only ^gSon, ^hso that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. ⁱ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn ^jthe world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, ^kbecause he has not believed in the name ^lof the One and Only Son ^mof God.

¹⁹“This, then, is the judgment: The light ⁿhas come into the world, ^oand people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For everyone who practices wicked things hates ^pthe light and avoids it, ^qso that his deeds ^rmay not be exposed. ²¹But anyone who lives by ^sthe truth comes to the light, so that his works ^tmay be shown to be accomplished by God.” ^u

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 ^valso 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. ^w

²⁵Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples ^xand a Jew ^yabout purification. ^z26So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi, ^athe One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, ^bis baptizing—and everyone is flocking to Him.” ^c

²⁷John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, ^dbut I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’ ^e29He who has the bride ^fis the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ^gat the groom’s voice. So this joy ^hof mine is complete. ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The One from Heaven

³¹The One who comes from above ⁱis above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. ^jThe One who comes from heaven is above all. ^k32He testifies ^lto what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. ³³The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true. ^m34For God sent Him, and He speaks God’s words, since He ⁿgives the Spirit ^owithout measure. ³⁵The Father loves the Son ^pand has given all things into His hands. ^q36The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him. ^r