John 3
1 There was a man, one of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, who was a leader among the Judeans. 2 He came to Jesusa in the night.
“Rabbi,” he said, “Web understand that you have come as a teacher from God; no one is able to produce the signsc that you do unless God is with them.”
3 “Truly, truly I’m telling you,” Jesus answered, “Unless someone is brought into beingd from above,e they are not able to understandf God’s Reign.”g
4 “How can a person be brought into being when they’re old?” Nicodemus said. “Can they go into their mother’s womb and come into being a second time?”
5 “Truly, truly I’m telling you,” Jesus answered, “Unless someone is brought into being from water and fromh the Life-breath, they aren’t able to start participating ini God’s Reign. 6 Whatever has been brought into being from the body is a body,j and whatever has been brought into being from the Life-breath is a life-breath. 7 Don’t be shocked that I told you it’s necessary for youk to be brought into being from above. 8 The windl blows where it wants and you hear its sound, but you don’t see where it comes from or where it’s going. That’s how it is with everyone who has been brought into being by the Life-breath.”m
9 “How can these things happen?”n Nicodemus asked him.
10 “You are the teacher of Israel, but you don’t understand these things?” Jesus responded. 11 “Truly, truly I’m telling you that we’re talking about what we have come to understando and we report what we’ve seen, but youp don’t accept what we report. 12 If you don’t trust what I’ve told you about things happening on the land,q how will you trust it if I tell you about heavenly things?
13 “No one has ascended to the heavens except the one who descended from the heavens, the Son of Humanity. 14 Just like Moses raised up the snake in the wilderness, it’s necessary for the Son of Humanity to be raised up 15 so that everyone who trusts him will have agelong life.r 16 You see, this is how God loved the whole world: He gave the One-of-a-kind Son so that everyone who places their trust in him would not be lost to deaths but would have agelong life.t 17 God did not send the Son to the whole world in order to putu the whole world on trial but so the whole world would be liberated through him. 18 The one who places their trust in him is not put on trial, but the one who does not trust has already been tried since they have not placed their trust in the namev of God’s One-of-a-Kind Son. 19 But this is the verdict:w that the light spoke to the whole world and the people lovedx the darkness more than the light. It was because their actions were corrupt. 20 For everyone who practices rottennessy hates the light and does not come near the light so that their actions won’t be exposed. 21 But the one who behaves with integrityz comes near the light so that their actions can be displayed because they have done them with God.”
22 Afterward, Jesus and his students went to the land of Judea, and he spent time there with them and submersed people. 23 John was also submersing people in Aenon near Salim because a lot of water was there, and people were coming and being submersed 24 (This was when John had not yet been thrown in prison).
25 Then, there came to be a debate between John’s students and a Judean about cleansing. 26 So they came to John.
“Rabbi,” they said to him, “The one who was with you across the Jordan, the one you have vouched for—look! He is submersing people, and everyone is going to him!”
27 “A person can’t receive anything,” John responded, “unless it has been given to them from the heavens.aa 28 You can already confirm for me that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ and instead I said, ‘I’m the one who was sent ahead of the one who is.’ 29 The groom is the one who has the bride, and the groom’s friend who stands by and listens for him celebrates joyfully at the sound of the groom’s voice. So, this same joy has been made real for me. 30 It’s necessary for him to become more prominent and me to become less prominent. 31 The one who comes from above is higher than everything; the one from the land is from the land and speaks from the land. The one who comes from the heavens is higher than everything. 32 He has seen and heard what he reports about this, and no one accepts his report. 33 Whoever has accepted his report has fully endorsedbb that God is trustworthy. 34 You see, God sent him to speak what comes from the mouthcc of God because he doesn’t give the Life-breath from an attitude of moderation.dd 35 The Father loves the Son and has handed him everything. 36 The one who places their trust in the Son has agelong life, but the one who refuses to be persuaded by the Son will not see life; instead, God’s anger staysee on them.”
FOOTNOTES:
a ‘Jesus’ added for clarity. The Greek reads, “He came to him.”
b The identity of the other members of ‘we’ is not stated. It seems likely that other Pharisees were curious about Jesus, and Nicodemus was there as a representative of the group.
c This is an instance when reading it with awareness that it says ‘signs’ and not ‘miracles’ is important. “No one is able to do things that demonstrate they are trustworthy as being from God unless God is with them.”
d Traditionally, ‘born.’ It is a correct translation to say, ‘born.’ However, Jesus’ teaching in this chapter draws heavily on the ideas in the narration from chapter 1. The word gennao, has many ways to translate it into English, such as ‘to birth,’ ‘to beget/father,’ ‘to become,’ and ‘to begin.’ The core concept is ‘coming to be’ and it is more natural in English most of the time to specify how that happens, such as being born. Translating it as the more general ‘come to be’ or ‘be brought into being’ allows the connection to the content of chapter 1 to be more clear.
e The meaning of this word, anothen, has been hotly debated for a long time. The etymology is somewhat uncertain, and the recognized range of meaning includes four possibilities: 1) ‘from above,’ 2) ‘from the beginning,’ 3) ‘for a long time,’ and 4) ‘again.’ Different translators have handled it differently. Nicodemus’ response in verse 4 indicates he thought Jesus meant it with the meaning of ‘again’; however, Jesus’ further explanation in verses 5-8 show more of what Jesus had in mind. Perhaps ‘from the top’ would be a good modern equivalent, carrying an a versatile sense of ‘again’ and ‘from above’ and ‘from the beginning,’ though it most clearly means that last option.
f A more literal translation is ‘see.’ However, this word is frequently used in the sense of ‘perceive’ in the sense of ‘understand,’ ‘pay attention,’ or ‘come to know.’ The same word is used in verse 2 where Nicodemus says, “I understand that you have come…” Several Greek words that can be translated as ‘see’ exist, and many of them are used in John. This word, however, is used most often in the sense of ‘pay attention!’ (historically, ‘behold!) and in the sense of having come to understand or know something based on having observed and paid attention.
g Traditionally, ‘kingdom.’ The word ‘kingdom’ is one of the ways to translate this word; however, it refers to a place, a physical location over which a king reigns. The Greek word can also mean the fact of the king being in authority, which is what it means in scripture in reference to God. Therefore, ‘God’s reign’ is a more appropriate translation than ‘God’s kingdom.’ It’s about the fact of God being the authority, not about a place God rules.
h The traditional ‘of water and of spirit’ is a disappointing translation. The Greek has a preposition, ek, that should not be translated as ‘of’ except in the sense of source or origin, which would be clearer by using ‘out of’ or ‘from.’ It could be used in several ways here: 1) source (out of/from), 2) cause (because of), or means (by/from).
i The Greek word eiserchomai is traditionally translated as ‘enter.’ When it is used for physical travel, that is a good translation. It is a compound word for ‘into/toward’ and ‘come/go.’ However, it has other possible meanings that are more appropriate when it is not about travel: 1) to enter a state of being or event, meaning to start to be or participate in something happening, and 2) to happen or develop. Since it is talking about people and about a movement taking place in which God is acknowledged in an authoritative role (not a physical realm/kingdom), the definition of eiserchomai related to beginning to participate in something happening is the most appropriate way to translate it here. Worth noting, however, is the wordplay in the fact that this is the same word for ‘go into their mother’s womb.’
j Traditionally, ‘flesh.’ Sarx refers to the tissue that comprises a body, so in most current English, the word ‘body’ is what would be used in its place, though technically ‘flesh’ and ‘tissue’ both work. It has nothing to do with a ‘sin nature’ in this context (and whether it does so in other contexts is also debatable).
k This is a plural form, addressing more than one person.
l This word is the same pneuma that is translated as ‘life-breath’ in other places.
m This word is the same pneuma that is translated as ‘wind’ in the preceding sentence.
n Many translations use ‘be’ instead of ‘happen.’ However, the word is gennao, the same as is translated as ‘come into being.’ The question is not about how they could already exist or be true but how they can begin to be or how they could happen.
o This word can also be translated as ‘see’ but is often used to refer to mental perception rather than physical sight.
p This is plural here, referring to more than one person.
q Or ‘earth’ or ‘ground,’ perhaps ‘at ground level’ in this sentence.
r There are a number of ways this could be translated, and it’s one where it’s impossible for the translator’s bias not to show up. Traditionally, this is ‘eternal life’ or ‘everlasting life.’ ‘Everlasting’ is probably better between the two. It’s an adjective from the word for an ‘eon’ or an ‘age.’ It’s definition is ‘lasting a really long time’ without specifying the precise amount. It’s possible it’s talking about a conscious afterlife, but if we’re thinking in terms of Hebrew culture and thought, going to Heaven when you die wasn’t really a thing, or at least was still a new idea during the time of Jesus, having been influenced by Greek philosophy. In the days of Abraham and other Hebrew Bible figures, the way one’s life continued was in the legacy one left through family relationships and the impact one had on the world. See Deuteronomy 6:1-5, particularly verse 2 “to prolong your days,” and Deuteronomy 30:1-20, especially 15-20, which includes “To love the Lord your God, to heed His voice, and to cling to Him, for He is your life and your length of days to dwell on the soil which the LORD your God sword to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them” (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, 2019). The ‘coming into being’ Jesus is talking about is about participating in the long and prosperous life promised to the people as a whole when the people as a whole follow God’s ways. Whether or not going to heaven after death is something to believe, this particular conversation between a Pharisee, a teacher of Israel, and Jesus seems to have little to do with it. Essentially, he seems to be asking, ‘how do I choose life?’
s Or ‘killed’ or ‘destroyed’
t Again, see Deuteronomy 30, especially verse 15-20.
u Traditionally, ‘judge’
v The phrases ‘in his name’ and ‘in your name’ and ‘in my name’ appear several times throughout John. In many places, it has been translated as something along the lines of ‘as his representatives.’ Some places, like here, that way to translate it does not work well. When the phrase is describing an action, it works. When, as here, an action is being directed toward ‘the name,’ the English word ‘name’ has been included. The concept of ‘name’ in scripture is more than the set of sounds or letters used to designate who is being discussed. It refers to their identity, character, and sometimes authority or cause which that person represents or leads. For instance, here, it could be loosely translated to mean something like “placed their trust in the identity, authority, and waying of being of…”
w Traditionally, ‘judgement.’ ‘Judge’ and ‘judgement’ work if it is thought of in the sense of making a determination, discerning, making an assessment. It does not mean ‘punishment.’
x The word is agapao which is translated as ‘love’ but is not about emotional affection or attachment. It is a commitment to the benefit and support of whatever is loved.
y The word phaulos means something like ‘low quality,’ or ‘low value,’ and is usually but not always used in contexts about character and behavior. Words like ‘corruption’ or ‘ineffective actions’ or ‘mediocre behavior’ or ‘crappy actions’ or ‘cheap behavior’ could be appropriate. Traditionally, ‘evil deeds’ is how many translate it, adding yet another Greek word to the list of things that just gets lumped into ‘evil’ or ‘wicked.’
z Literally, ‘does the truth.’
aa ‘From the heavens’ is a common way within the culture to mean ‘from God’ or ‘divine,’ much like Americans talk about statements from the president as being announcements ‘from the Whitehouse.’
bb Literally, ‘marked with a seal,’ which is how authority figures certified their approval, like signing a document.
cc The Greek word here is rhema, not logos. It means something along the lines of a vocal sound, saying, utterance. The broad ‘what comes from the mouth’ is intended to distinguish it from logos (‘word’ or ‘message’ or anything ‘spoken’) which is used in John with a particular symbolic meaning.
dd Or perhaps ‘frugality.’ Literally, it says, “he doesn’t give the Life-breath from a metron.” Metron means a measure or tool for measuring. The idea is that God’s not worried about being careful with how much Life-breath is being given out. There is a never-ending supply.
ee Or ‘stays present’ or ‘is present’ or ‘remains’