1 T here was a man named Nicodemus. He was a proud religious law-keeper and a leader of the Jews.

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

2 H e came to Jesus at night and said, “Teacher, we know You have come from God to teach us. No one can do these powerful works You do unless God is with Him.” Jesus Tells of the New Kind of Birth

Who 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.

3 J esus said to him, “For sure, I tell you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the holy nation of God.”

Jesus 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.

4 N icodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? How can he get into his mother’s body and be born the second time?”

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

5 J esus answered, “For sure, I tell you, unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit of God, he cannot get into the holy nation of God.

Jesus 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.

6 W hatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

What is born of the flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 “ Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

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

8 T he wind blows where it wants to and you hear its sound. You do not know where it comes from or where it goes. It is the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit of God.”

The 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.

9 N icodemus said to Him, “How can this be?”

Nicodemus answered by asking, How can all this be possible?

10 J esus said, “Are you a teacher among the Jews and do not know these things?

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

11 F or sure, I tell you, We are talking about things We know. We tell of what We have seen. Yet you do not take Our words to be true.

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.

12 I tell you about things of the earth and you do not believe them. How will you believe if I tell you things about heaven?

If 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?

13 “ No one has gone up into heaven except the One Who came down from heaven. That One is the Son of Man Who is in heaven.

And 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.

14 A s Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

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

15 T hen whoever puts his trust in Him will have life that lasts forever.

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

16 F or God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever.

For 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.

17 F or God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty. He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him.

For 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.

18 W hoever puts his trust in His Son is not guilty. Whoever does not put his trust in Him is guilty already. It is because he does not put his trust in the name of the only Son of God.

He 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.

19 “ The Light has come into the world. And the Light is the test by which men are guilty or not. People love darkness more than the Light because the things they do are sinful.

The 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.

20 E veryone who sins hates the Light. He stays away from the Light because his sin would be found out.

For 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.

21 T he man who does what is right comes to the Light. What he does will be seen because he has done what God wanted him to do.” Jesus Preaches in Judea

But 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.

22 A fter this, Jesus and His followers came into the country of Judea. He stayed with them there and baptized people. John the Baptist Tells More about Jesus

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

23 J ohn was baptizing in the town of Aenon near Salim. There was much water there and people were coming to be baptized.

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

24 J ohn had not been put in prison yet.

For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

25 T hen some of the followers of John and a Jew started to argue about the religious washing of the Jewish worship.

Therefore there arose a controversy between some of John’s disciples and a Jew in regard to purification.

26 T hey came to John and said to him, “Teacher, the One with you on the other side of the Jordan River is baptizing also. He is the One you told of. Everyone is going to Him.”

So 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!

27 J ohn said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

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

28 Y ou heard the words that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him.’

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

29 T he man who has just been married has the bride. The friend of the man just married stands at his side and listens to him. He has joy when he hears the voice of the man just married. I am full of this joy.

He 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.

30 H e must become more important. I must become less important.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

31 “ He Who comes from above is above all. He who comes from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all.

He 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.

32 H e tells of what He has seen and heard. But no one believes what He says.

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

33 W hoever receives His words proves that God is true.

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

34 H e was sent by God and He speaks God’s Word. God gives Him all of His Spirit.

For 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!

35 T he Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.

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

36 H e who puts his trust in the Son has life that lasts forever. He who does not put his trust in the Son will not have life, but the anger of God is on him.”

And 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.