John 3:17

John 3:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
• New International Version (NIV)For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Context of John 3:17

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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. 18Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]. 19This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

John 3:17 word by word

οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι᾽ αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• sentἀποστέλλωapostellō · to sendG649
• notοὐou · noG3756
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• toἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• condemnκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• throughδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• might be savedσῴζωsōzō · to saveG4982

Cross-references for John 3:17

• John 5:45Do not think that I [am the One who] will accuse you before the Father. There [already] is one who accuses you: Moses, [the very one] in whom you have placed your hope [for salvation].
• John 8:15You judge according to human standards [just by what you see]. I do not judge anyone.
• John 12:47If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but to save the world.
• Luke 9:56for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they journeyed on to another village.
• John 1:29The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
• John 6:40For this is My Father’s will and purpose, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him [as Savior] will have eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.”
• Isaiah 45:21Declare and present your defense of idols; Indeed, let them consult together. Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened? Who declared it long ago? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.
• Isaiah 49:6He says, “It is too trivial a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will also make You a light to the nations That My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
• Isaiah 53:10Yet the Lord was willing To crush Him, causing Him to suffer; If He would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin], He shall see His [spiritual] offspring, He shall prolong His days, And the will (good pleasure) of the Lord shall succeed and prosper in His hand.
• Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O Daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King (Messianic King) is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Humble and unassuming [in submission to the will of the Father] and riding on a donkey, Upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.
• Matthew 1:23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which, when translated, means, “God with us.”
• Matthew 18:11[For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
• Luke 2:10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.
• Luke 19:10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
• 1 Timothy 2:5For there is [only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus,
• 1 John 2:2And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature—our worldliness, our lifestyle]; and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world.

Commentaries on John 3:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17For God sent not, etc. - It was the opinion of the Jews that the Gentiles, whom they often term the world, עלמה olmah, and העולם אומות omoth haolam, nations of the world, were to be destroyed in the days of the Messiah. Christ corrects this false opinion; and teaches here a contrary doctrine. God, by giving his Son, and publishing his design in giving him, shows that he purposes the salvation, not the destruction, of the world - the Gentile people…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17To condemn the world - Not to judge, or pronounce sentence on mankind. God might justly have sent him for this. Man deserved condemnation, and it would have been right to have pronounced it; but God was willing that there should be an offer of pardon, and the sentence of condemnation was delayed. But, although Jesus did not come then to condemn mankind, yet the time is coming when he will return to judge the living and the dead, Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-21The original Greek text does not include quotation marks. Because of this, translators must decide where the words of Jesus end and where John's explanation begins. John 3:16–21 might be John’s explanation of what Jesus said.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-2117-21. not to condemn, &c.--A statement of vast importance. Though "condemnation" is to many the issue of Christ's mission (Joh 3:19), it is not the object of His mission, which is purely a saving one.Read the comment

Topics related to John 3:17

• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Righteous
• Salvation
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Born
• Call
• Condemn
• Condemnation
• Darkness
• Decrease
• Faith
• 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