John 3

Conversation with Nicodemus

¹ Now there was [a] man out of the Pharisees, [the] name to him [was] Nicodemos, [a] ruler of the Jews. ² This [one] came to him in [the] night and said to him: Rabbi, we know that you have come [a] teacher from God, for no one is able to be doing these signs that you are doing unless God be with him. ³ Jesus answered and said to him: Truly truly I say to you, if someone not be begotten¹ from above² , he is not able to see the kingdom of God. ⁴ Nicodemus says to him: How is [a] man able to be begotten¹ being old? Is he able to enter into his mother's belly [a] second time and be begotten¹?³ ⁵ Jesus answered: Truly truly I say to you, if someone not be begotten¹ out of water and spirit⁴ , he is not able to enter⁵ into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is begotten¹ out of the flesh is flesh, and that which is begotten¹ out of the spirit⁴ is spirit⁴. ⁷ You should not marvel that I said to you⁶, You must [all]⁷ be begotten¹ from above². ⁸ The wind⁴ blows where it wants, and you do not know whence it is coming and where it is going, in this manner is everyone who has been begotten¹ out of the spirit⁴.

⁹ Nicodemos answered and said to him: How are these [things] able to come to pass? ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him: You are the teacher of Israel and you do not know these [things]? ¹¹ Truly truly I say to you⁸ that what we have known we speak and what we have seen we testify, and our testimony you [all]⁷ do not receive. ¹² If I told the earthly to you [all]⁷, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell the heavenly to you? ¹³ And no one has gone up into heaven except the one having come down out of heaven, the son of man. ¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up⁹ the snake in the wilderness¹⁰, in this manner it is necessary for the son of man to be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone believing in him may be having eternal zoe-life¹¹ ¹².

¹⁶ For God thus¹³ agape-loved the world: so that he gave his uniquely-begotten¹⁴ son, so that everyone believing in him not perish but be having eternal zoe-life¹¹. ¹⁷ For God did not send his son into the world that he judge the world, but that the world be saved through him. ¹⁸ The [one] believing in him is not judged, the [one] not believing [in him] has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the uniquely-begotten¹⁴ son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men agape-loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked¹⁵ . ²⁰ For everyone doing¹⁶ worthlessness hates the light and does not come to the light, that his works not be rebuked. ²¹ But the [one] doing¹⁶ the truth comes to the light, so that his works be revealed that they have been wrought by God.

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

²² After these [things] Jesus and his disciples came into the Judean land and he remained with them and was baptizing. ²³ Now John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there, and they were coming and were being baptized. ²⁴ For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Now [a] controversy arose out of the disciples of John with [the] Jews concerning purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him: Rabbi, [He] who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, to whom you have begotten¹ witness, Behold this [one] baptizes and all come to him.

²⁷ John answered and said: [a] man is able to be receiving nothing unless it have been given to him out of heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness that I said: I am not the Christ, but that I have been sent before that [one]. ²⁹ The [one] having the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, the [one] who has stood and has heard him, rejoices with joy because of the sound of the bridegroom. So my joy has been fulfilled. ³⁰ He must be increasing, but I must be diminishing.

³¹ The [one] coming from above is over all; the [one] being from the earth is out of the earth and speaks out of the earth. The [one] being from heaven is over all. ³² What he has seen and heard, of this he testifies, and no one receives his testimony. ³³ The [one] having received his testimony has set his seal [to this], that God is true. ³⁴ For [the one] whom God sent speaks the words of God, for he does not give the spirit by measure¹⁷. ³⁵ The father agape-loves the son, and has given everything into his hand. ³⁶ The [one] believing in the son has eternal zoe-life¹¹, but the [one] disobeying the son will not see zoe-life¹¹, but the wrath of God abides on him.

¹GENNAO "gen-AH-oh" (γενναω) is used of `begetting' by the father, and `birthing' by the mother in the Greek literature in general as well as the Septuagint. Thus it refers to the reproductive process as a whole. GENNAO is also used of the special relationship between a Master and his disciples, where no literal begetting or birthing is involved. Since there isn't really an English word that encompasses the whole reproductive cycle, GENNAO is reluctantly translated as 'born' except in those contexts where it would be strange to the English reader to say 'born of a father' or 'begotten by a mother'.

²The word ANOTHEN (ανωθεν) has a double meaning, either "again" or "from above".

³Grammar indicates "no" answer expected or expresses uncertainty

⁴This is a play on words: "wind" and "spirit" are the same Greek word PNEUMA (πνευμα).

⁵ℵ few: 'to see'

⁶singular

⁷"you" is plural

⁸singular

⁹HUPSAO (υπσαω) to physically "lift up", and to "exalt". This double meaning is used intentially in the Fourth Gospel—to be "lifted up" on the cross = to be exalted. Occurs in John.3:14, John.8:28, John.12:32 and John.12:34

¹⁰The O.T. account of this incident is found in Num.21:5-9

¹¹from ZOE "ZOH-ay" (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected. Although it means 'life' in the conventional sense (for example: Matt.9:18, Matt.27:63, Luke.2:36, Acts.25:24, Rom.7:2, 2Cor.1:8, 1Thes.4:17, 1Tim.5:10, Rev.19:20), Jesus uses ZOE exclusively of 'life eternal' (with the possible exceptions of Luke.15:13, Luke.16:25). The other N.T. writers use ZOE in both senses—temporal and eternal, generally clear from the context. The Father is the 'zoe-living God' (see Matt.16:16). The Septuagint (LXX) in Gen.2:7 has "...[God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of zoe-life, and the man became a zoe-living psyche-life" (and see 1Cor.15:45); and Gen.3:20 (LXX) "And Adam called his wife's name ZOE, because she was the mother of all zoe-living." Contrast PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. See John.12:25 where both ZOE and PSYCHE occur. Greek also has the word BIOS (βιoς ) for 'life' in the sense of biological processes.

¹²The first time "eternal life" appears in the Gospel

¹³OUTOS (oυτως ) can either mean the degree—"how much" God agape-loved the world, and/or the manner—"in what way" God agape-loved the world.

¹⁴MONOGENES `mah-noh-gen-AYS" (μoνγενεης ) Literally `only (MONO) + begotten/birthed (GENES)'. GENNAO "gen-AH-oh" (γενναω) is used of `begetting' by the father, and `birthing' by the mother in the Greek literature in general as well as the Septuagint. Thus it refers to the reproductive process as a whole. GENNAO is also used of the special relationship between a Master and his disciples, where no literal begetting or birthing is involved. Since there isn't really an English word that encompasses the whole reproductive cycle, GENNAO is reluctantly translated as 'born' except in those contexts where it would be strange to the English reader to say 'born of a father' or 'begotten by a mother'. MONOGENES appears in: Luke.7:12, Luke.8:42, Luke.9:38, John.1:14, John.1:18, John.3:16, John.3:18, Heb.11:17, 1John.4:9. Luke only uses MONOGENES to refer to 'an only-child'. But see Heb.11:17 where Isaac is referred to as MONOGENES even though he has an older brother Ishmael. Thus it must also mean 'uniquely-born/begotten' and not strictly 'only-child'.

¹⁵PONEROS (πoνηρoς ) here. The Greek word KAKOS (κακoς ) is always translated `evil', PONEROS is usually translated as `wicked' although occasionally as `bad'; it can also mean 'diseased', 'sickly' and is thus translated where appropriate. Like KAKOS, PONEROS also means `evil', but the harm that evil does is more in view, where KAKOS is more `evil as evil'.

¹⁶or "practicing"

¹⁷i.e. he gives the spirit without measure