John 3.5-17 Greek and Translation Notes

John 3.5-17 Greek and Translation Notes mgvh – 2011.03

(Verses 1-4 are not part of the lectionary reading, but you should check them for context.)

5 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ. NAU Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. KJV Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. DRA Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ESV Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. NET Jesus answered, "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. NRS Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. NIV Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. NJB Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born through water and the Spirit; NLT Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. CEV Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God's kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. MGI Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly I say to you, if a man is not born from water and Spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God. GWN Jesus answered Nicodemus, "I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. MSG Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the "wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom.  Where else does the phrase ἀμὴν ἀμὴν appear in the Bible? How do the versions try to translate it?  What type of condition is this with ἐὰν...? What is the implication of this type of condition?  Where else do υυ δωρ and πνευμα occur together in the same verse in John?  Is the βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ an important theme in John? 6 τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστιν, καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστιν. NAU "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. KJV That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. DRA That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. ESV That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. NET What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. NRS What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. NIV Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. NJB what is born of human nature is human; what is born of the Spirit is spirit. NLT Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. CEV Humans give life to their children. Yet only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God. MGI What is born from the flesh is flesh and what is born from the Spirit is spirit. GWN Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the Spirit gives birth to things that are spiritual. MSG When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.  What is the tense and gender of γεγεννημένον? What does this indicate?  In the previous verse, the contrast was water / Spirit. Here it is flesh / Spirit? How do these two contrasts relate?  In this and the previous verse, πνεῦμά is used three times. In the translations, when is it (or should it be) Spirit or spirit?

7 μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι εἶπόν σοι· δεῖ ὑμᾶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν. NAU "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' KJV Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. DRA Wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again. ESV Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' NET Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must all be born from above.' NRS Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' NIV You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' NJB Do not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above. NLT So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.' CEV Don't be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. MGI Do not marvel that I say to you that it is necessary for you to be born again. GWN Don't be surprised when I tell you that all of you must be born from above. MSG "So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be "born from above'—out of this world, so to speak.  μὴ θαυμάσῃς is a construction indicating with the verb in tense and mood.  What is the grammatical construction with δεῖ followed by a pro/noun in the case and a verb in the mood? 8 τὸ 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. NAU "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." KJV The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. DRA The Spirit breatheth where he will; and thou hearest his voice, but thou knowest not whence he cometh, and whither he goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. ESV The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." NET The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." NRS The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." NIV The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." NJB The wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. NLT 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." CEV Only God's Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. MGI The wind will blow where it wants and you hear its sound, but you do not know [from] where it comes and to where it goes. So is everyone who is born from the Spirit." GWN The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you don't know where the wind comes from or where it's going. That's the way it is with everyone born of the Spirit." MSG You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone "born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."  Note the contrasting pair of ἔρχεται and ὑπάγει. Though we learn that ἔρχομαι can mean either "go" or "come," this type of usage indicates that it's basic idea really is "come."  ἐστὶν πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος - Note the similar phrase as was used in v.6, but what has changed here? 9 ἀπεκρίθη Νικόδημος καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· πῶς δύναται ταῦτα γενέσθαι; NAU Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" KJV Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? DRA Nicodemus answered, and said to him: How can these things be done? ESV Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" NET Nicodemus replied, "How can these things be?" NRS Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" NIV "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. NJB 'How is that possible?' asked Nicodemus. NLT "How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked. CEV "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. MGI Nicodemus answered and said to him, "How can these [things] be?" GWN Nicodemus replied, "How can that be?" MSG Nicodemus asked, "What do you mean by this? How does this happen?"  Note how translations deal with ἀπεκρίθη ... καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ.  ταῦτα – Singular or plural? To what does it refer?

10 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις; NAU Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? KJV Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? DRA Jesus answered, and said to him: Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things? ESV Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? NET Jesus answered, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don't understand these things? NRS Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? NIV "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? NJB Jesus replied, 'You are the Teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things! NLT Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? CEV Jesus replied: How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? MGI Jesus answered and said to him, "You are a teacher of Israel and you do not know these [things]? GWN Jesus told Nicodemus, "You're a well-known teacher of Israel. Can't you understand this? MSG Jesus said, "You're a respected teacher of Israel and you don't know these basics?  Same as previous verse, note how translations deal with ἀπεκρίθη ... καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ.  Does the article attached to διδάσκαλος indicate that Nicodemus is "the" teacher of Israel? (Be sure to note how he describes Jesus in 3.2! Also see what Wallace, GGBB explains. [Use the Resources tab in BibleWorks to find the link.])

 Compare the punctuation of Jesus' statement in NJB with the others. Is it defensible or to be preferred? 11 ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ὅτι ὃ οἴδαμεν λαλοῦμεν καὶ ὃ ἑωράκαμεν μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἡμῶν οὐ λαμβάνετε. NAU "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. KJV Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. DRA Amen, amen I say to thee, that we speak what we know, and we testify what we have seen, and you receive not our testimony. ESV Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. NET I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. NRS "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. NIV I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. NJB 'In all truth I tell you, we speak only about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence. NLT I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony. CEV I tell you for certain that we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. MGI Truly, truly I say to you, what we know, we speak, and what we see, we witness [to], and you do not receive our witness. GWN I can guarantee this truth: We know what we're talking about, and we confirm what we've seen. Yet, you don't accept our message. MSG Listen carefully. I'm speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions.  Note the person and number of the verbs! What is going on here? o λέγω o οἴδαμεν λαλοῦμεν ἑωράκαμεν μαρτυροῦμεν o λαμβάνετε  Note the tenses of the indicative verbs! What is going on here? o λέγω o οἴδαμεν ἑωράκαμεν o λαλοῦμεν μαρτυροῦμεν λαμβάνετε  Where else in John do words with the μαρτυρ* stem occur? 12 εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε; NAU "If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? KJV If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? DRA If I have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not; how will you believe, if I shall speak to you heavenly things? ESV If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? NET If I have told you people about earthly things and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? NRS If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? NIV I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? NJB If you do not believe me when I speak to you about earthly things, how will you believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things? NLT 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? CEV If you don't believe when I talk to you about things on earth, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about things in heaven? MGI If I have spoken to you about [things] on the earth and you do not believe, how will you believe me if I speak to you about [things] in heaven? GWN If you don't believe me when I tell you about things on earth, how will you believe me when I tell you about things in heaven? MSG If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God?  εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε - What kind of condition is this, and what is implied?  ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε - What kind of condition is this, and what is implied?

13 καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. NAU "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. KJV And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. DRA And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. ESV No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. NET No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven– the Son of Man. NRS No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. NIV No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. NJB No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man; NLT No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. CEV No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. MGI And no man has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven. GWN No one has gone to heaven except the Son of Man, who came from heaven. MSG "No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man.  What is the tense of ἀναβέβηκεν? From what perspective is the situation being regarded?  What is the tense of καταβάς, and why isn't it the same as ἀναβέβηκεν?  Where else is ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου used in John? 14 Καὶ καθὼς Μωϋσῆς ὕψωσεν τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, NAU "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; KJV And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: DRA And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up: ESV And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, NET Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, NRS And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, NIV Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, NJB as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up NLT And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, CEV And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. MGI And as Moses raised up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man is going to be raised up, GWN "As Moses lifted up the snake on a pole in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. MSG In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up--  Where in the Bible is the Moses/serpent incident to be found?  What does ὑψόω mean?  Where else is ὑψόω used in John, and how are we to understand its use?

15 ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. NAU so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. KJV That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. DRA That whosoever believeth in him, may not perish; but may have life everlasting. ESV that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. NET so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." NRS that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. NIV that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. NJB so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. NLT so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. CEV Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life. MGI so that everyone who believes in him will not be destroyed, but will have eternal life. GWN Then everyone who believes in him will have eternal life." MSG and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.  Note the parallel in phrasing with verse 8. Are these two expressions indicating the same thing?  Note tense of πιστεύων and ἔχῃ. What is this indicating?  Where else in John does it talk about "eternal life"? Is it a future or present reality? 16 οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ᾽ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. NAU "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. DRA For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. ESV "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. NET For this is the way 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. NRS "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. NIV "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. NJB For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. NLT "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. CEV God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. MGI For God so loved the world, even that he would give his unique Son, that whoever will believe in him will not be destroyed, but will have eternal life, GWN God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. MSG "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.  ἠγάπησεν and ἔδωκεν are both _____ tense and ___ mood  Is it more accurate to say that this text is describing: o A) how much God loves… or B) in what way God loved… ? o What factors determined your answer?  Look up μονογενῆ in the Friberg Analytical Lexicon. (“Fri” in BibleWorks.) What does it give as the initial root meaning of the word? How do the translations render it?  Note the repetition of the πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ... phrase from v.15.  ἀπόληται is ______tense and _____ voice of the verb ______. o Using Friberg, what is the meaning of the verb in this voice when used in reference to persons?  ἔχῃ is what tense?  Why might the different tenses of ἀπόληται and ἔχῃ be significant? 17 οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι᾽ αὐτοῦ. NAU "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. KJV For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. DRA For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him. ESV For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. NET For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. NRS "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. NIV For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. NJB For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. NLT God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. CEV God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! MGI for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to give life to the world by his hand. GWN God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. MSG God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.  κρίνῃ might be either ______or ______tense. o What kind of verb is κριι νω that makes this possible? o Which tense seems to make the better sense in this context? o What word does the NASB (=NAU in BW) use to translate κρίνῃ? o What word does the NRSV use to translate κρίνῃ? o Which word do you think best expresses the author's intent?  σωθῇ is ______voice.  What preposition do you most often look for following a verb in this voice?  Find the one instance in the Gospel of John where this happens.  What is being indicated, then, by the use of δι᾽ αὐτοῦ? (Look for a reference to John 3.17 in the Wallace grammar included with BW8.)