John 3:14

John 3:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
• New International Version (NIV)Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
• English Standard Version (ESV)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

Context of John 3:14

12If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven]. Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], 15so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever]. 16“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:14 word by word

καὶ καθὼς Μωϋσῆς ὕψωσεν τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
• MosesΜωϋσῆς, ΜωσῆςMōseus Mōsēs Mōusēs · MosesG3475
• lifted upὑψόωhupsoō · to lift upG5312
• the serpentὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the wildernessἔρημοςerēmos · desertedG2048
• even soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• mustδεῖdei · be necessaryG1163
• the Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
• of manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for John 3:14

• Numbers 21:7So the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, so that He will remove the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
• 2 Kings 18:4He removed the high places [of pagan worship], broke down the images (memorial stones) and cut down the Asherim. He also crushed to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the Israelites had burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan [a bronze sculpture].
• John 8:28So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man [on the cross], you will know then [without any doubt] that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but I say these things just as My Father taught Me.
• John 12:32And I, if and when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw all people to Myself [Gentiles, as well as Jews].”
• Psalms 22:16For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me; A gang of evildoers has encircled me, They pierced my hands and my feet.
• Matthew 26:54How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?”
• Luke 18:31Then taking the twelve [disciples] aside, He said to them, “Listen carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled and completed.
• Luke 24:20and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him.
• Acts 2:23this Man, when handed over [to the Roman authorities] according to the predetermined decision and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross and put to death by the hands of lawless and godless men.
• Acts 4:27For in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

Commentaries on John 3:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14As Moses lifted up - He shows the reason why he descended from heaven, that he might be lifted up, i.e. crucified, for the salvation of man. kind, and be, by the appointment of God, as certain a remedy for sinful souls as the brazen serpent elevated on a pole, Numbers 21:9, was for the bodies of the Israelites, which had been bitten by the fiery serpents in the wilderness. It does not appear to me that the brazen serpent was ever intended to be considered…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14And as Moses - Jesus proceeds in this and the following verses to state the reason why he came into the world and, in order to this, he illustrates His design, and the efficacy of his coming, by a reference to the case of the brass serpent, recorded in Numbers 21:8-9. The people were bitten by flying fiery serpents. There was no cure for the bite. Moses was directed to make an image of the serpent, and place it in sight of the people, that they might look…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-15Jesus was lifted up on the cross so that all people could understand the way of salvation, look to him in faith, and have eternal life.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1614-16. And as Moses, &c.--Here now we have the "heavenly things," as before the "earthly," but under a veil, for the reason mentioned in Joh 3:12. The crucifixion of Messiah is twice after this veiled under the same lively term--"uplifting," Joh 8:28; 12:32, 33. Here it is still further veiled--though to us who know what it means, rendered vastly more instructive--by reference to the brazen serpent. The venom of the fiery serpents, shooting through the…Read the comment

Topics related to John 3:14

• Brazen Serpent
• Faith
• Immortality
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Life
• Salvation
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Types

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Son of man
• Born
• Brass
• Call
• Condemn
• Condemnation
• Darkness
• Decrease
• Increase

Commentaries on John 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings