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

12I have told you about things that happen in this world. And you do not believe me. But now I am telling you about things that happen in heaven. So I do not think that you will ever believe me about those things. 13The Son of Man came down from heaven. Nobody else has gone up to heaven except him. Long ago Moses lifted up the metal snake in the wilderness to save his people. In the same way, people must lift up the Son of Man on a cross. 15As a result, everyone who believes him will be able to live for ever with God. 16God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live for ever with God.’

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 they said, ‘We did a bad thing when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Please pray to the Lord on our behalf. Ask him to remove the snakes from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.
• 2 Kings 18:4He removed the altars on the hills. He knocked down the stone pillars that people worshipped and he cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made. Until then, the Israelites had burned incense as an offering to it. It was called Nehushtan.
• John 8:28So Jesus said to them, ‘You will lift up the Son of Man on a cross. Then you will know that “I am who I am”. And you will know that I do nothing by myself. I say only what the Father has taught me to say.
• John 12:32But when people lift me up from the ground, then I will bring everyone to myself.’
• Psalms 22:16Wicked people are everywhere around me. They are ready to attack me, like a group of wild dogs. They tear apart my hands and my feet.
• Matthew 26:54They would save me. But then the things that God has said in the Bible about this would not happen. So it must happen in this way.’
• Luke 18:31Jesus took the 12 disciples away from the other people. ‘Listen!’ he said to them. ‘We are going to Jerusalem. There, many bad things will happen to me. All the things that God's prophets wrote down long ago about the Son of Man will now happen to me.
• Luke 24:20Then the leaders of the priests and our rulers took hold of him. They gave him to the Roman ruler. They said that he had done bad things and that he ought to die. So they killed him by fixing him to a cross.
• Acts 2:23God knew that Jesus' enemies would give him to you. God had decided that this should happen. You let people who do not obey God's Law fix him to the cross. In that way you killed him.
• Acts 4:27Lord God, it has now happened like that. Herod and Pontius Pilate have met together here in Jerusalem. They met with Israelite people and with people of other nations. Together they made plans to kill your holy servant, Jesus. He is the one that you chose to be your Messiah.

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