1 N ow there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews,

And there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus his name, a ruler of the Jews,

2 W ho came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles—and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him.

this one came unto him by night, and said to him, `Rabbi, we have known that from God thou hast come -- a teacher, for no one these signs is able to do that thou dost, if God may not be with him.'

3 J esus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.

Jesus answered and said to him, `Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God;'

4 N icodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb again and be born?

Nicodemus saith unto him, `How is a man able to be born, being old? is he able into the womb of his mother a second time to enter, and to be born?'

5 J esus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and '> even] the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus answered, `Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born of water, and the Spirit, he is not able to enter into the reign of God;

6 W hat is born of the flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

that which hath been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 M arvel not at My telling you, You must all be born anew (from above).

`Thou mayest not wonder that I said to thee, It behoveth you to be born from above;

8 T he wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

the Spirit where he willeth doth blow, and his voice thou dost hear, but thou hast not known whence he cometh, and whither he goeth; thus is every one who hath been born of the Spirit.'

9 N icodemus answered by asking, How can all this be possible?

Nicodemus answered and said to him, `How are these things able to happen?'

10 J esus replied, Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet do not know nor understand these things?

Jesus answered and said to him, `Thou art the teacher of Israel -- and these things thou dost not know!

11 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, We speak only of what we know; we have actually seen what we are testifying to. And still you do not receive our testimony.

`Verily, verily, I say to thee -- What we have known we speak, and what we have seen we testify, and our testimony ye do not receive;

12 I f I have told you of things that happen right here on the earth and yet none of you believes Me, how can you believe (trust Me, adhere to Me, rely on Me) if I tell you of heavenly things?

if the earthly things I said to you, and ye do not believe, how, if I shall say to you the heavenly things, will ye believe?

13 A nd yet no one has ever gone up to heaven, but there is One Who has come down from heaven—the Son of Man, Who is (dwells, has His home) in heaven.

and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down -- the Son of Man who is in the heaven.

14 A nd just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

`And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up,

15 I n order that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life and live forever!

that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,

16 F or God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.

17 F or God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.

For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him;

18 H e who believes in Him is not judged; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

he who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 T he judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.

`And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;

20 F or every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved.

for every one who is doing wicked things hateth the light, and doth not come unto the light, that his works may not be detected;

21 B ut he who practices truth comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—wrought with God.

but he who is doing the truth doth come to the light, that his works may be manifested, that in God they are having been wrought.'

22 A fter this, Jesus and His disciples went into the land (the countryside) of Judea, where He remained with them, and baptized.

After these things came Jesus and his disciples to the land of Judea, and there he did tarry with them, and was baptizing;

23 B ut John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, for there was an abundance of water there, and the people kept coming and being baptized.

and John was also baptizing in Aenon, nigh to Salem, because there were many waters there, and they were coming and were being baptized --

24 F or John had not yet been thrown into prison.

for John was not yet cast into the prison --

25 T herefore there arose a controversy between some of John’s disciples and a Jew in regard to purification.

there arose then a question from the disciples of John with Jews about purifying,

26 S o they came to John and reported to him, Rabbi, the Man Who was with you on the other side of the Jordan '> at the Jordan crossing]—and to Whom you yourself have borne testimony—notice, here He is baptizing too, and everybody is flocking to Him!

and they came unto John, and said to him, `Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou didst testify, lo, this one is baptizing, and all are coming unto him.'

27 J ohn answered, A man can receive nothing '> take unto himself nothing] except as it has been granted to him from heaven.

John answered and said, `A man is not able to receive anything, if it may not have been given him from the heaven;

28 Y ou yourselves are my witnesses that I stated, I am not the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), but I have been sent before Him.

ye yourselves do testify to me that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am having been sent before him;

29 H e who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the groomsman who stands by and listens to him rejoices greatly and heartily on account of the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete.

he who is having the bride is bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom, who is standing and hearing him, with joy doth rejoice because of the voice of the bridegroom; this, then, my joy hath been fulfilled.

30 H e must increase, but I must decrease.

`Him it behoveth to increase, and me to become less;

31 H e Who comes from above (heaven) is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all others.

he who from above is coming is above all; he who is from the earth, from the earth he is, and from the earth he speaketh; he who from the heaven is coming is above all.

32 I t is to what He has seen and heard that He bears testimony, and yet no one accepts His testimony.

`And what he hath seen and heard this he doth testify, and his testimony none receiveth;

33 W hoever receives His testimony has set his seal of approval to this: God is true..

he who is receiving his testimony did seal that God is true;

34 F or since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God, God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!

for he whom God sent, the sayings of God he speaketh; for not by measure doth God give the Spirit;

35 T he Father loves the Son and has given (entrusted, committed) everything into His hand.

the Father doth love the Son, and all things hath given into his hand;

36 A nd he who believes in (has faith in, clings to, relies on) the Son has (now possesses) eternal life. But whoever disobeys (is unbelieving toward, refuses to trust in, disregards, is not subject to) the Son will never see (experience) life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

he who is believing in the Son, hath life age-during; and he who is not believing the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God doth remain upon him.'