Joh 3 | HCSB | STEP | There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus , a ruler of the Jews .

‏ John 3

Jesus and Nicodemus

1 There was a man from the ^{▼▼Pharisee(s): In Judaism a religious sect that followed the whole written and oral law}Pharisees ^b named Nicodemus, ^c a ruler ^d of the ^{▼▼Jew(s): In Jn the term Jews usually indicates those in Israel who were opposed to Jesus, particularly the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem who led the nation.}Jews. 2 This man came to Him at night and said, “ ^{▼▼Rabbi: The Hebrew word Rabbi means my great one; it is used of a recognized teacher of the Scriptures.}Rabbi, ^g we know that You have come from God ^h as a teacher, ⁱ for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him.” ^j

3 Jesus replied, “ ^{▼▼I assure you: This is a phrase used only by Jesus to testify to the certainty and importance of His words; in Mt, Mk and Lk it is literally Amen, I say to you, and in Jn it is literally Amen, amen, I say to you.}I assure you: Unless someone is born again, ^{▼▼The same Gk word can mean again or from above (also in v. 7).
,} ^m he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁿ

4 “But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

5 Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born ^o of water and the Spirit, ^{▼▼Or spirit, or wind; the Gk word pneuma can mean wind, spirit, or Spirit, each of which occurs in this context.
,} ^q he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh ^r is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit ^s is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you ^{▼▼The pronoun is pl in Gk.} must be born ^u again. 8 The wind ^{▼▼The Gk word pneuma can mean wind, spirit, or Spirit, each of which occurs in this context.} blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. ^w So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” ^x

9 “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.

10 “Are you a teacher ^{▼▼Or the teacher} of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied. 11 “I assure you: ^z We speak what We know and We testify to what We have seen, but you ^{▼▼In Gk, the word you is pl here and throughout v. 12.} do not accept Our testimony. ^{▼▼The pronouns we and our refer to Jesus and His authority to speak for the Father.} 12 If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of heaven? 13 No one has ascended ^ac into heaven ^ad except the One who descended from heaven ^ae – the ^{▼▼Son of Man: The most frequent title Jesus used for Himself; Dn 7:13}Son of Man. ^{▼▼Other mss add who is in heaven
,} ^ah 14 Just as Moses ^ai lifted up the snake in the wilderness, ^aj so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him will ^{▼▼Other mss add not perish, but} have eternal life. ^al

16 “For God loved ^am the world ^{▼▼I assure you: This is a phrase used only by Jesus to testify to the certainty and importance of His words; in Mt, Mk and Lk it is literally Amen, I say to you, and in Jn it is literally Amen, amen, I say to you.}in this way: ^{▼▼The Gk word houtos, commonly translated in Jn 3:16 as “so” or “so much” occurs over 200 times in the NT. Almost without exception it is an adverb of manner, not degree (for example, see Mt 1:18). It only means “so much” when modifying an adjective (see Gl 3:3; Rv 16:18). Manner seems primarily in view in Jn 3:16, which explains the HCSB‘s rendering.} He gave His ^{▼▼One and Only: Or one of a kind, or incomparable, or only begotten; the Greek word can refer to someone's only child such as in Lk 7:12; 8:42; 9:38. It can also refer to someone's special child as in Heb 11:17.}One and Only ^aq Son, ^ar so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. ^as 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn ^at the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, ^au because he has not believed in the name ^av of the One and Only Son ^aw of God.

19 “This, then, is the judgment: The light ^ax has come into the world, ^ay and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who practices wicked things hates ^az the light and avoids it, ^{▼▼Lit and does not come to the light} so that his deeds ^bb may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by ^{▼▼Lit who does} the truth comes to the light, so that his works ^bd may be shown to be accomplished by God.” ^{▼▼It is possible that Jesus’ words end at v. 15. Ancient Gk did not have quotation marks.}

Jesus and John the Baptist

22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went to the Judean countryside, where He spent time with them and baptized. 23 John ^bf also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, 24 since John had not yet been thrown into prison. ^bg

25 Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples ^bh and a Jew ^{▼▼Other mss read and the Jews} about purification. ^bj 26 So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi, ^bk the One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, ^bl is baptizing – and everyone is flocking to Him.” ^bm

27 John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the ^{▼▼Messiah: Or the Christ; the Greek word Christos means "the anointed one".}Messiah, ^bo but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’ ^bp 29 He who has the bride ^bq is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ^{▼▼Lit with joy rejoices} at the groom’s voice. So this joy ^bs of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The One from Heaven

31 The One who comes from above ^bt is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. ^{▼▼Or of earthly things} The One who comes from heaven is above all. ^bv 32 He testifies ^bw to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true. ^bx 34 For God sent Him, and He speaks God’s words, since He ^{▼▼Other mss read since God} gives the Spirit ^bz without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son ^ca and has given all things into His hands. ^cb 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him. ^cc