1 E ntre los fariseos había un hombre que, entre los judíos, era muy importante. Se llamaba Nicodemo.

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

2 É ste vino de noche a ver a Jesús, y le dijo: «Rabí, sabemos que has venido de parte de Dios como maestro, porque nadie podría hacer estas señales que tú haces si Dios no estuviera con él.»

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 esús le respondió: «De cierto, de cierto te digo, que el que no nace de nuevo, no puede ver el reino de Dios.»

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 icodemo le dijo: «¿Y cómo puede un hombre nacer, siendo ya viejo? ¿Acaso puede entrar en el vientre de su madre, y volver a nacer?»

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 esús le respondió: «De cierto, de cierto te digo, que el que no nace de agua y del Espíritu, no puede entrar en el reino de Dios.

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 L o que nace de la carne, carne es; y lo que nace del Espíritu, espíritu es.

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

7 N o te maravilles de que te dije que es necesario que ustedes nazcan de nuevo.

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

8 E l viento sopla de donde quiere, y lo puedes oír; pero no sabes de dónde viene, ni a dónde va. Así es todo aquel que nace del Espíritu.»

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 icodemo le preguntó: «¿Y cómo es posible que esto suceda?»

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

10 J esús le respondió: «¿Y tú eres maestro de Israel, y no lo sabes?

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

11 D e cierto, de cierto te digo, que hablamos de lo que sabemos y damos testimonio de lo que hemos visto; pero ustedes no aceptan nuestro testimonio.

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 S i les he hablado de cosas terrenales, y no creen, ¿cómo creerán si les hablo de las cosas celestiales?

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 N adie subió al cielo, sino el que descendió del cielo, que es el Hijo del Hombre.

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 Y así como Moisés levantó la serpiente en el desierto, así también es necesario que el Hijo del Hombre sea levantado,

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

15 p ara que todo aquel que en él cree no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna. De tal manera amó Dios al mundo

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

16 » Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna.

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 P orque Dios no envió a su Hijo al mundo para condenar al mundo, sino para que el mundo sea salvo por él.

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 E l que en él cree, no es condenado; pero el que no cree, ya ha sido condenado, porque no ha creído en el nombre del unigénito Hijo de Dios.

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 Y ésta es la condenación: que la luz vino al mundo, pero los hombres amaron más las tinieblas que la luz, porque sus obras eran malas.

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 P orque todo aquel que hace lo malo, aborrece la luz y no se acerca a la luz, para que sus obras no sean reprendidas.

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 P ero el que practica la verdad viene a la luz, para que sea evidente que sus obras son hechas en Dios.» El amigo del esposo

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 D espués de esto, Jesús fue con sus discípulos a la tierra de Judea, y estuvo allí con ellos, y bautizaba.

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

23 T ambién Juan bautizaba en Enón, junto a Salín, porque allí había muchas aguas; y la gente acudía y era bautizada,

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 p orque Juan aún no había sido encarcelado.

For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

25 H ubo entonces una discusión entre los discípulos de Juan y los judíos acerca de la purificación.

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

26 F ueron entonces adonde estaba Juan, y le dijeron: «Rabí, resulta que el que estaba contigo al otro lado del Jordán, y de quien tú diste testimonio, bautiza, y todos acuden a él.»

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 uan les respondió: «Nadie puede recibir nada, si no le es dado del cielo.

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

28 U stedes mismos son mis testigos de que dije: “Yo no soy el Cristo, sino que he sido enviado delante de él.”

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 E l que tiene la esposa, es el esposo; pero el amigo del esposo, que está a su lado y lo oye, se alegra mucho al oír la voz del esposo. Así que esta alegría mía ya se ha cumplido.

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 E s necesario que él crezca, y que yo decrezca.» El que viene de arriba

He must increase, but I must decrease.

31 E l que viene de arriba, está por encima de todos; el que es de la tierra, es terrenal, y habla cosas terrenales; el que viene del cielo, está por encima de todos

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 y da testimonio de lo que vio y oyó, pero nadie recibe su testimonio.

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

33 E l que acepta su testimonio, confirma que Dios es veraz.

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

34 P orque el enviado de Dios habla las palabras de Dios; pues Dios no da el Espíritu por medida.

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 E l Padre ama al Hijo, y ha puesto en sus manos todas las cosas.

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

36 E l que cree en el Hijo tiene vida eterna, pero el que se niega a creer en el Hijo no verá la vida, sino que la ira de Dios recae sobre él.

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.