2 This
man came to Jesus by night, and said to him:
“Rabbi, we know that you are a Teacher come from God;
for no one could give such signs as you are giving, unless God
were with him.”
3 “In truth I tell you,” exclaimed Jesus, “unless a man is
reborn, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” note
4 “How can a man,” asked Nicodemus, “be born when he is
old? Can he be born a second time?”
5 “In truth I tell you,” answered Jesus, “unless a man owes
his birth to Water and Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom
of God.
6 All that owes its birth to human nature is human,
and all that owes its birth to the Spirit is spiritual.
7 Do not
wonder at my telling you that you all need to be reborn.
8 The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound of
it, but you do not know whence it comes, or where it goes;
it is the same with every one that owes his birth to the
Spirit.”
9 “How can that be?” asked Nicodemus.
10 “What! You a teacher of Israel,” exclaimed Jesus, “and
-- --
yet do not understand this!
11 In truth I tell you that we speak
of what we know, and state what we have seen; and yet you do
not accept our statements.
12 If, when I tell you earthly things,
you do not believe me, how will you believe me when I tell you
of heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended to Heaven, except
him who descended from Heaven—the Son of Man himself. note
14 And, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the
Son of Man be lifted up;
15 that every one who believes in him
may have Immortal Life.”
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
every one who believes in him may not be lost, but have
Immortal Life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved
through him.
18 He who believes in him escapes condemnation,
while he who does not believe in him is already condemned,
because he has not believed in the only Son of God.
19 The
ground of his condemnation is this, that though the Light
has come into the world, men preferred the darkness to the
Light, because their actions were wicked.
20 For he who lives
an evil life hates the light, and will not come to it, for fear
that his actions should be exposed;
21 but he who acts up to the
truth comes to the light, that his actions may be shown to have
been done in dependence upon God.
note
22 After this, Jesus went with his disciples into the
country parts of Judaea; and there he stayed with
them, and baptized.
23 John, also, was baptizing
at Aenon near Salim, because there were many
streams there; and people were constantly coming and being
baptized.
24
25 (For John had not yet been imprisoned). ⪆⪆Now
a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew
on the subject of ‘purification;’
26 and the disciples came to
John and said:
“Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the
Jordan, and to whom you have yourself borne testimony—he,
also, is baptizing, and everybody is going to him.”
27 John's answer was—
“A man can gain nothing but what is given him from
Heaven.
28 You are yourselves witnesses that I said ‘I am
not the Christ,’ but ‘I have been sent before him as a
Messenger.’
29 It is the bridegroom who has the bride; but the
bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens to him, is
filled with joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This
joy I have felt to the full.
30 He must become greater, and
I less.”
31 He who comes from above is above all others; but a child
of earth is earthly, and his teaching is earthly, too. He who
-- --
comes from Heaven is above all others.
32 He states what he
has seen and what he heard, and yet no one accepts his statement.
33 They who did accept his statement attested the fact
that God is true.
34 For he whom God sent as his Messenger
gives us God's own teaching, for God does not limit the gift
of the Spirit.
35 The Father loves his Son, and has put everything
in his hands.
36 He who believes in the Son has Immortal
Life, while he who rejects the Son will not even see that Life,
but remains under ‘God's displeasure.’ note
Twentieth Century [1904], THE TWENTIETH CENTURY NEW TESTAMENT A TRANSLATION INTO MODERN ENGLISH Made from the Original Greek (Westcott & Hort's Text) (The Fleming H. Revell Company, NEW YORK & CHICAGO) [word count] [B14200].