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

15Then everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” 16God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. 18Those who believe in him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned because they don’t believe in God’s only Son. 19This is why people are condemned: The light came into the world. Yet, people loved the dark rather than the light because their actions 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 5:45“Don’t think that I will accuse you in the presence of the Father. Moses, the one you trust, is already accusing you.
• John 8:15You judge the way humans do. I don’t judge anyone.
• John 12:47If anyone hears my words and doesn’t follow them, I don’t condemn them. I didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world.
• Luke 9:56So they went to another village.
• John 1:29John saw Jesus coming toward him the next day and said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
• John 6:40My Father wants all those who see the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day.”
• Isaiah 45:21Speak and present your case. Yes, let them consult one another. Who revealed this in the distant past and predicted it long ago? Wasn’t it I, the Lord? There is no other God except me. There is no other righteous God and Savior besides me.
• Isaiah 49:6Now, the Lord says, “You are not just my servant who restores the tribes of Jacob and brings back those in Israel whom I have preserved. I have also made you a light for the nations so that you would save people all over the world.”
• Isaiah 53:10Yet, it was the Lord’s will to crush him with suffering. When the Lord has made his life a sacrifice for our wrongdoings, he will see his descendants for many days. The will of the Lord will succeed through him.
• Zechariah 9:9Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion! Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal.
• Matthew 1:23“The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”
• Luke 2:10The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy.
• Luke 19:10Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost.”
• 1 Timothy 2:5There is one God. There is also one mediator between God and humans—a human, Christ Jesus.
• 1 John 2:2He is the payment for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of 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