John 3

Learning to read Greek? Start with the alphabet.

Original

Modern

Jesus and Nicodemus

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

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.

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

²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

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

³Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”^a

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

⁴“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”

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

⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

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

⁶Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.

⁷μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι εἶπόν σοι Δεῖ ὑμᾶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν

⁷Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You^a must be born again.’

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

⁸The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹Ἀπεκρίθη Νικόδημος καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Πῶς δύναται ταῦτα γενέσθαι

⁹“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

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

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things?

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

¹¹Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony.

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

¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

¹³καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.^a

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

¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

¹⁵ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον

¹⁵that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.^a

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

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only^a Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

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

¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

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

¹⁸Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

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

¹⁹And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.

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

²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

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

²¹But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”^a

John’s Testimony about Jesus

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

²²After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized.

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

²³Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because the water was plentiful there, and people kept coming to be baptized.

²⁴οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν ὁ Ἰωάννης

²⁴(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

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

²⁵Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew^a over the issue of ceremonial washing.

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

²⁶So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

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

²⁷John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

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

²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’

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

²⁹The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

³⁰ἐκεῖνον δεῖ αὐξάνειν ἐμὲ δὲ ἐλαττοῦσθαι

³⁰He must increase; I must decrease.

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

³¹The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.^a

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

³²He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.

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

³³Whoever accepts His testimony has certified that God is truthful.

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

³⁴For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

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

³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.

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

³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”^a