{crossposts from writonautics}

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² The same came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him.”

³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Verily, verily I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus says^# to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Verily, verily I say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Marvel not that I said to you, ‘You^* must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes¹, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes: so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you a master of Israel, and know not these things? ¹¹ Verily, verily I say to you, we speak that we know and testify that we have seen; and you^* receive not our witness.

¹² If I have told you earthly things and you^* believe not, how shall you^* believe if I tell you of heavenly things? ¹³ And no man has ascended up to Heaven, but He who came down from Heaven, even the Son of Man who is in Heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.²

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but He who believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

¹⁹ And this is the condemnation: that Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the Light, neither comes to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are done³ in God.”

²² After these things, Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He tarried with them, and baptized.

²³ And John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized, ²⁴ for John had not yet been cast into prison.

²⁵ Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore⁴ witness — behold, the same baptizes and all men come to Him.”

²⁷ John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from Heaven. ²⁸ You^* yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but that ‘I am sent before Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this, my joy, is fulfilled. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.

³¹ “He who comes from Above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks of⁵ the earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all. ³² And what He has seen and heard, to that He testifies, and no man receives His testimony. ³³ He who has received His testimony has set to his seal that God is true. ³⁴ For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure to Him.

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who believes not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” {KING}

Notes:

# Historic Present

* Plural you (ye)

Endnotes:

¹ Listeth: 2309. Theló - to will, wish

² Other translations end the direct quote of Jesus here. While others continue until v.21

³ Wrought - 2038. ergazomai

⁴ Barest, archaic form of bare; archaic past form of bear. (https://www.thefreedictionary.com/barest, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/barest)

⁵ “earthly” and “of” is 1537, ek or ex: from, from out of (Strong’s)