Section 9 of 1053:1-15John

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King James VersionJohn 3:1-15

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

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.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

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.

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

John 3:1-15

Nicodemus Hears of Birth from Above

Nicodemus comes by night and hears of birth from above

A Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, comes to Jesus by night and calls him a teacher come from God because of the signs. Jesus answers that unless a person is born from above, that person cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus hears a second physical birth and asks how an old man can enter his mother's womb again. The misunderstanding is the dialogue's engine, not a cartoon of Jewish stupidity. Nicodemus is a teacher of Israel inside an internal Jewish conversation.

Jesus speaks of being born of water and of the Spirit. Wind blows where it will; so is everyone born of the Spirit. Earthly things have not been received; heavenly things are harder still. The Son of man must be lifted up as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, that whoever believes may have eternal life. Water and Spirit has baptismal, Ezekiel-shaped, and combined readings; the phrase alone does not settle a denomination's whole baptismal system. The KJV's 'which is in heaven' at 3:13 is absent from important early witnesses.

New birth is God's initiative, not a script to force

The night visit, the teacher-to-teacher address, and the serpent image all keep the claim inside Israel's story. Birth from above is not a technique for extracting testimony or ranking people who do not share one conversion vocabulary.

How this should shape us

Let God's life-giving work unsettle inherited certainty without manipulating anyone into a single conversion script. Honor Nicodemus as a serious Jewish teacher, and do not pretend one contested phrase has settled every baptismal question.

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Explain John 3:1-15 in your own words. Include its place in John's movement, the decisive claim or action, one sourced uncertainty, and one use the passage does not authorize.

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The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do responsible interpreters differ?

Best judgment: The Greek can mean born 'again' or 'from above'; the dialogue depends on both. John 3:5 has major baptismal, natural-birth, Ezekiel-renewal, and combined readings; no denomination may pretend the phrase alone settles baptismal regeneration. The KJV includes 'which is in heaven' at 3:13, absent from important early witnesses. Nicodemus is a Jewish teacher within an internal Jewish conversation, not a symbol of Judaism's stupidity.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.

John 3:1-15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.

Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 3:1-15

STEP Bible Data

Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.

STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 3:1-15

NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes

Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.

NET Bible John PDF, John 3:1-15 and attached translator, study, and textual notes

John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.

Enter the Bible John course, Background and Introductory Issues; applied to 3:1-15

The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides

Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.

Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Cana, Temple, Nicodemus, and Samaritan Woman study guide; applied to 3:1-15

John

Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.

Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 3:1-15

Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence as Flawed Interpretations of the Gospel of John

Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.

Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 3:1-15

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.

Exact location: John 3:1-15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

Greek textual evidence

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos

Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010

Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.

Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 3:1-15

Open the John Greek text file ↗

Lexical and grammatical evidence

STEP Bible Data

Tyndale House Cambridge

Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026

Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.

Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 3:1-15

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition

Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.

Exact location: NET Bible John PDF, John 3:1-15 and attached translator, study, and textual notes

Open the official NET John PDF ↗

modern scholarly book introduction

John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Craig R. Koester; revised by Karoline M. Lewis

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026

Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.

Exact location: Enter the Bible John course, Background and Introductory Issues; applied to 3:1-15

Open the Enter the Bible John course ↗

modern scholarly narrative and theological course

The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides

Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler

Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, Current online edition inspected 2026

Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Cana, Temple, Nicodemus, and Samaritan Woman study guide; applied to 3:1-15

Open the Yale Gospel of John course ↗

modern open confessional commentary

John

Andreas J. Köstenberger

The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, Current online edition inspected 2026

Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.

Exact location: Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 3:1-15

Open Köstenberger's John commentary ↗

modern scholarly ethical and historical study

Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence as Flawed Interpretations of the Gospel of John

Paul N. Anderson

Bible and Interpretation; expanded from John and Judaism, SBL Resources for Biblical Study 87, 2017

Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.

Exact location: Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 3:1-15

Open Anderson's full study ↗