Iohannem 3
1 Erat autem homo ex Pharisaeis, Nicodemus nomine, princeps Iudaeorum.
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2 Hic venit ad Iesum nocte, et dixit ei: Rabbi, scimus quia a Deo venisti magister, nemo enim potest haec signa facere, quae tu facis, nisi fuerit Deus cum eo.
He came at night to where Jesus was and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God, for nobody could do the miraculous signs you're doing unless God was with him.”
3 Respondit Iesus, et dixit ei: Amen, amen dico tibi, nisi quis renatus fuerit denuo, non potest videre regnum Dei.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “Unless you are reborn, you can't experience God's kingdom.”
4 Dicit ad eum Nicodemus: Quomodo potest homo nasci, cum sit senex? numquid potest in ventrem matris suae iterato introire, et renasci?
“How can you be reborn when you're old?” Nicodemus asked. “You can't go back into your mother's womb and be born a second time!”
5 Respondit Iesus: Amen, amen dico tibi, nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua, et Spiritu sancto, non potest introire in regnum Dei.
“I tell you the truth, you can't enter God's kingdom unless you are born of water and the Spirit,” Jesus told him.
6 Quod natum est ex carne, caro est: et quod natum est ex spiritu, spiritus est.
“What's born of the flesh is flesh, and what's born of the Spirit is Spirit.
7 Non mireris quia dixi tibi: oportet vos nasci denuo.
Don't be surprised at my telling you, ‘You must be reborn.’
8 Spiritus ubi vult spirat: et vocem eius audis, sed nescis unde veniat, aut quo vadat: sic est omnis, qui natus est ex spiritu.
The wind blows wherever it wants, and just as you hear the sound it makes, but don't know where it's coming from or where it's going, that's how it is for everyone who is born of the spirit.”
9 Respondit Nicodemus, et dixit ei: Quomodo possunt haec fieri?
“How is this possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Respondit Iesus, et dixit ei: Tu es magister in Israel, et haec ignoras?
“You're a famous teacher in Israel, and yet you don't understand such things?” Jesus replied.
11 Amen, amen dico tibi, quia quod scimus loquimur, et quod vidimus testamur, et testimonium nostrum non accipitis.
“I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know and give evidence regarding what we have seen, but you refuse to accept our testimony.
12 Si terrena dixi vobis, et non creditis: quomodo, si dixero vobis caelestia, credetis?
If you don't trust what I say when I tell you about earthly things, how would you ever trust what I say if I were to tell you about heavenly things?
13 Et nemo ascendit in caelum, nisi qui descendit de caelo, Filius hominis, qui est in caelo.
No one has gone up to heaven, but the Son of man came down from heaven.
14 Et sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto; ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis:
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of man must be lifted up,
that everyone who trusts in him will have eternal life. (aiōnios g166)
16 Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret: ut omnis, qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. (aiōnios g166)
For God loved the world, and this is how: he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who trusts in him shouldn't die, but have eternal life. (aiōnios g166)
17 Non enim misit Deus Filium suum in mundum, ut iudicet mundum, sed ut salvetur mundus per ipsum.
God didn't send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Qui credit in eum, non iudicatur: qui autem non credit, iam iudicatus est: quia non credit in nomine unigeniti Filii Dei.
Those who trust in him are not condemned, while those who don't trust in him are condemned already because they didn't trust in the one and only Son of God.
19 Hoc est autem iudicium: quia lux venit in mundum, et dilexerunt homines magis tenebras, quam lucem: erant enim eorum mala opera.
This is how the decision is made: the light came to the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light, for their actions were evil.
20 Omnis enim, qui male agit, odit lucem, et non venit ad lucem, ut non arguantur opera eius:
All those who do evil hate the light and don't come into the light, because they don't want their actions to be exposed.
21 qui autem facit veritatem, venit ad lucem, ut manifestentur opera eius, quia in Deo sunt facta.
But those who do good come into the light, so that what God accomplishes in them can be revealed.”
22 Post haec venit Iesus, et discipuli eius in terram Iudaeam: et illic demorabatur cum eis, et baptizabat.
After this Jesus and his disciples went into Judea and spent some time with the people, baptizing them.
23 Erat autem et Ioannes baptizans in Aennon, iuxta Salim: quia aquae multae erant illic, et veniebant, et baptizabantur.
John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there and people kept coming to be baptized.
24 Nondum enim missus fuerat Ioannes in carcerem.
(This was before John was imprisoned.)
25 Facta est autem quaestio ex discipulis Ioannis cum Iudaeis de Purificatione.
An argument developed between John's disciples and a Jew over ceremonial purification.
26 Et venerunt ad Ioannem, et dixerunt ei: Rabbi, qui erat tecum trans Iordanem, cui tu testimonium perhibuisti, ecce hic baptizat, et omnes veniunt ad eum.
They went to John and told him, “Rabbi, the man you were with on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you testified in support of—see, now he's baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”
27 Respondit Ioannes, et dixit: Non potest homo accipere quidquam, nisi fuerit ei datum de caelo.
“No one receives anything unless they're given it from heaven,” John replied.
28 Ipsi vos mihi testimonium perhibetis, quod dixerim: Non sum ego Christus: sed quia missus sum ante illum.
“You yourselves can testify that I declared, ‘I'm not the Messiah. I've been sent to prepare his way.’
29 Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est: amicus autem sponsi, qui stat, et audit eum, gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi. Hoc ergo gaudium meum impletum est.
The bridegroom is the one who has the bride! The best man waits, listening for the bridegroom, and is so happy when he hears the bridegroom's voice—in the same way my happiness is now complete.
30 Illum oportet crescere, me autem minui.
He must become more important, and I must become less important.”
31 Qui desursum venit, super omnes est. Qui est de terra, de terra est, et de terra loquitur. Qui de caelo venit, super omnes est.
He who comes from above is greater than all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about earthly things. He who comes from heaven is greater than all.
32 Et quod vidit, et audivit, hoc testatur: et testimonium eius nemo accipit.
He gives evidence about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he has to say.
33 Qui autem accepit eius testimonium, signavit quia Deus verax est.
Yet anyone who accepts what he says confirms that God is truthful.
34 Quem enim misit Deus, verba Dei loquitur: non enim ad mensuram dat Deus spiritum.
For the one God sent speaks God's words, because God doesn't restrict the Spirit.
35 Pater diligit Filium: et omnia dedit in manu eius.
The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
36 Qui credit in Filium, habet vitam aeternam: qui autem incredulus est Filio, non videbit vitam, sed ira Dei manet super eum. (aiōnios g166)
Anyone who trusts in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to trust the Son will not experience eternal life but remains under God's condemnation. (aiōnios g166)
