John 3

¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus his name, a chief of the Jews. ² This one came to Him by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we are aware that Thou art a Teacher come from God, for no one can be doing these signs which Thou art doing, if God should not be with Him." ³ Jesus answered and said to him, "Verily, verily, I am saying to you, If anyone should not be begotten anew, he can not perceive the kingdom of God." ⁴ Nicodemus is saying to him, "How can a man, being a veteran, be begotten? He can not be entering into the womb of his mother a second time and be begotten!" ⁵ Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I am saying to you, If anyone should not be begotten of water and of spirit, he can not be entering into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is begotten by the flesh is flesh, and that which is begotten by the spirit is spirit. ⁷ You should not be marveling that I said to you, 'You must be begotten anew.' ⁸ The blast is blowing where it wills, and the sound of it you are hearing, but you are not aware whence it is coming and where it is going. Thus is everyone who is begotten by the water and the spirit." ⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, "You are a teacher of Israel, and these things you do not know? ¹¹ Verily, verily, I am saying to you that of that which we have perceived are we speaking, and to that which we have seen are we testifying, and our testimony you are not getting. ¹² If I told you of the terrestrial and you are not believing, how shall you be believing if I should be telling you of the celestial? ¹³ And no one has ascended into heaven except He Who descends out of heaven, the Son of Mankind Who is in heaven. ¹⁴ And, according as Moses exalts the serpent in the wilderness, thus must the Son of Mankind be exalted, ¹⁵ that everyone believing on Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian. ¹⁶ For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian. ¹⁷ For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him. ¹⁸ He who is believing in Him is not being judged; yet he who is not believing has been judged already, for he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ Now this is the judging: that the light has come into the world, and men love the darkness rather than the light, for their acts were wicked. ²⁰ For everyone who is committing bad things is hating the light and is not coming to the light, lest his acts may be exposed. ²¹ Now he who is doing the truth is coming to the light that his acts may be made manifest, for they have been wrought in God." ²² After these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea. And there He tarried with them and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, for there was much water there, and they came along and were baptized, ²⁴ for not as yet was John cast into jail. ²⁵ There occurred, then, a questioning of the disciples of John with a Jew concerning cleansing. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He Who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, to Whom you have testified, lo! this One is baptizing and all are coming to Him." ²⁷ John answered and said, "A man can not get anything if it should not be given him out of heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves are testifying to me that I said, 'Not I am the Christ,' but that 'Dispatched am I in front of Him.' ²⁹ He Who has the bride is the Bridegroom. Yet the friend of the Bridegroom, who stands and is hearing Him, is rejoicing with joy because of the Bridegroom's voice. This, my joy, then, has been fulfilled. ³⁰ He must be growing, yet mine it is to be inferior. ³¹ He Who from above is coming is over all. He who is of the earth is of the earth and of the earth is speaking; He Who is coming out of heaven is over all. ³² What He has seen and hears, this He is testifying, and no one is getting His testimony. ³³ He who is getting His testimony sets his seal that God is true. ³⁴ For He Whom God commissions is speaking God's declarations, for God is not giving the spirit by measure. ³⁵ The Father is loving the Son and has given all into His hand. ³⁶ He who is believing in the Son has life eonian, yet he who is stubborn as to the Son shall not be seeing life, but the indignation of God is remaining on him."