New Living Translation

Greek Study Bible

1There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.

1Ἦν δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων Νικόδημος ὄνομα αὐτῷ ἄρχων τῶν Ἰουδαίων

2After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

2οὗτος ἦλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ῥαββί οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἐλήλυθας διδάσκαλος οὐδεὶς γὰρ δύναται ταῦτα τὰ σημεῖα ποιεῖν ἃ σὺ ποιεῖς ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ ὁ Θεὸς μετ’ αὐτοῦ

3Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

3Ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ

4“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

4Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Νικόδημος Πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι

5Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

5Ἀπεκρίθη (ὁ) Ἰησοῦς Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύματος οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ

6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

6τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστιν καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστιν

7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’

7μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι εἶπόν σοι Δεῖ ὑμᾶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν

8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

8τὸ πνεῦμα ὅπου θέλει πνεῖ καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἀκούεις ἀλλ’ οὐκ οἶδας πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγει οὕτως ἐστὶν πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος

9“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

9Ἀπεκρίθη Νικόδημος καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Πῶς δύναται ταῦτα γενέσθαι

10Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?

10Ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις

11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony.

11ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ὅτι ὃ οἴδαμεν λαλοῦμεν καὶ ὃ ἑωράκαμεν μαρτυροῦμεν καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἡμῶν οὐ λαμβάνετε

12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

12Εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε πῶς ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε

13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.

13καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ⧼ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ⧽

14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

14καὶ καθὼς Μωϋσῆς ὕψωσεν τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

15ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

16Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ὥστε τὸν Υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ’ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον

17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

17οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον ἀλλ’ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ

18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.

18ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν οὐ κρίνεται ὁ ‹δὲ› μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται ὅτι μὴ πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ

19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.

19Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς ἦν γὰρ αὐτῶν πονηρὰ τὰ ἔργα

20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

20πᾶς γὰρ ὁ φαῦλα πράσσων μισεῖ τὸ φῶς καὶ οὐκ ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχθῇ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ

21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. ” John the Baptist Exalts Jesus

21ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς ἵνα φανερωθῇ αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα ὅτι ἐν Θεῷ ἐστιν εἰργασμένα

22Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

22Μετὰ ταῦτα ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν γῆν καὶ ἐκεῖ διέτριβεν μετ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐβάπτιζεν

23At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism.

23Ἦν δὲ καὶ ‹ὁ› Ἰωάννης βαπτίζων ἐν Αἰνὼν ἐγγὺς τοῦ Σαλείμ ὅτι ὕδατα πολλὰ ἦν ἐκεῖ καὶ παρεγίνοντο καὶ ἐβαπτίζοντο

24(This was before John was thrown into prison.)

24οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν ‹ὁ› Ἰωάννης

25A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing.

25Ἐγένετο οὖν ζήτησις ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν Ἰωάννου μετὰ Ἰουδαίου περὶ καθαρισμοῦ

26So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

26καὶ ἦλθον πρὸς τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ Ῥαββί ὃς ἦν μετὰ σοῦ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου ᾧ σὺ μεμαρτύρηκας ἴδε οὗτος βαπτίζει καὶ πάντες ἔρχονται πρὸς αὐτόν

27John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.

27Ἀπεκρίθη Ἰωάννης καὶ εἶπεν Οὐ δύναται ἄνθρωπος λαμβάνειν ‹οὐδὲ ἓν› ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ

28You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’

28αὐτοὶ ὑμεῖς μοι μαρτυρεῖτε ὅτι εἶπον [ὅτι] Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ὁ Χριστός ἀλλ’ ὅτι Ἀπεσταλμένος εἰμὶ ἔμπροσθεν ἐκείνου

29It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.

29Ὁ ἔχων τὴν νύμφην νυμφίος ἐστίν ὁ δὲ φίλος τοῦ νυμφίου ὁ ἑστηκὼς καὶ ἀκούων αὐτοῦ χαρᾷ χαίρει διὰ τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ νυμφίου αὕτη οὖν ἡ χαρὰ ἡ ἐμὴ πεπλήρωται

30He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

30ἐκεῖνον δεῖ αὐξάνειν ἐμὲ δὲ ἐλαττοῦσθαι

31“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.

31Ὁ ἄνωθεν ἐρχόμενος ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν ὁ ὢν ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐστιν καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς λαλεῖ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐρχόμενος ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν

32He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!

32ὃ ἑώρακεν καὶ ἤκουσεν τοῦτο μαρτυρεῖ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ οὐδεὶς λαμβάνει

33Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true.

33ὁ λαβὼν αὐτοῦ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἐσφράγισεν ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθής ἐστιν

34For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.

34ὃν γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ λαλεῖ οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέτρου δίδωσιν τὸ Πνεῦμα

35The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands.

35Ὁ Πατὴρ ἀγαπᾷ τὸν Υἱόν καὶ πάντα δέδωκεν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ

36And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

36ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ὁ δὲ ἀπειθῶν τῷ Υἱῷ οὐκ ὄψεται ζωήν ἀλλ’ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει ἐπ’ αὐτόν

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Greek and Hebrew Study Bible courtesy Bible Hub and the Discovery Bible team.