American Standard Version
John 3:12
12If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?
John 3:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
- New International Version (NIV)I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
- English Standard Version (ESV)If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
- New King James Version (NKJV)If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
Context of John 3:12
10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things? 11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven. 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;
Read all of John 3John 3:12 word by word
εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε;Read the interlinear
Cross-references for John 3:12
- John 3:3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
- 1 Corinthians 3:1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ.
- Hebrews 5:11Of whom we have many things to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become dull of hearing.
- 1 Peter 2:1Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
- John 3:13And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.
- John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- 1 Corinthians 2:7but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory:
- 1 Timothy 3:16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
- 1 John 4:10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Commentaries on John 3:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12If I have told you earthly things - If, after I have illustrated this new birth by a most expressive metaphor taken from earthly things, and after all you believe not; how can you believe, should I tell you of heavenly things, in such language as angels use, where earthly images and illustrations can have no place? Or, if you, a teacher in Israel, do not understand the nature of such an earthly thing, or custom of the kingdom established over the Jewish…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12If I have told you earthly things - Things which occur on earth. Not sensual or worldly things, for Jesus had said nothing of these; but he had told him of operations of the Spirit which had occurred “on earth,” whose effects were visible, and which “might” be, therefore, believed. These were the plainest and most obvious of the doctrines of religion. How shall ye believe - How will you believe. Is there any probability that you will understand them?…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-1311-13. We speak that we know, and ... have seen--that is, by absolute knowledge and immediate vision of God, which "the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father" claims as exclusively His own (Joh 1:18). The "we" and "our" are here used, though Himself only is intended, in emphatic contrast, probably, with the opening words of Nicodemus, "Rabbi, we know.", &c. ye receive not, &c.--referring to the class to which Nicodemus belonged, but from which he…Read the comment
Topics related to John 3:12
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries