John 3:12

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 told Nicodemus, “You’re a well-known teacher of Israel. Can’t you understand this? 11I can guarantee this truth: We know what we’re talking about, and we confirm what we’ve seen. Yet, you don’t accept our message. If you don’t believe me when I tell you about things on earth, how will you believe me when I tell you about things in heaven? 13No one has gone to heaven except the Son of Man, who came from heaven. 14“As Moses lifted up the snake ⌞on a pole⌟ in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

John 3:12 word by word

εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Ifεἰei · ifG1487
• I have toldλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• youσύsu · youG4771
• earthly thingsἐπίγειοςepigeios · earthlyG1919
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• ye believeπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
• notοὐou · noG3756
• howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• heavenly thingsἐπουράνιοςepouranios · heavenlyG2032

Cross-references for John 3:12

• John 3:3Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.”
• 1 Corinthians 3:1Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you as spiritual people but as people still influenced by your corrupt nature. You were infants in your faith in Christ.
• Hebrews 5:11We have a lot to explain about this. But since you have become too lazy to pay attention, explaining it to you is hard.
• 1 Peter 2:1So get rid of every kind of evil, every kind of deception, hypocrisy, jealousy, and every kind of slander.
• John 3:13No one has gone to heaven except the Son of Man, who came from heaven.
• John 1:1In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
• 1 Corinthians 2:7We speak about the mystery of God’s wisdom. It is a wisdom that has been hidden, which God had planned for our glory before the world began.
• 1 Timothy 3:16The mystery that gives us our reverence for God is acknowledged to be great: He appeared in his human nature, was approved by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was announced throughout the nations, was believed in the world, and was taken to heaven in glory.
• 1 John 4:10This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment 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

• Blindness
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Life
• Mysteries
• Salvation
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• Born
• Condemn
• Condemnation
• Darkness
• Decrease
• Increase
• Love
• Nicodemus
• Testify
• Truth

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