God’s Word Translation
John 3:5
5Jesus answered Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and the Spirit.
John 3:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
- New International Version (NIV)Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Context of John 3:5
3Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.” 4Nicodemus asked him, “How can anyone be born when he’s an old man? He can’t go back inside his mother a second time to be born, can he?” Jesus answered Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the Spirit gives birth to things that are spiritual. 7Don’t be surprised when I tell you that all of you must be born from above.
Read all of John 3John 3:5 word by word
Ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Jesusὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
- answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
- Verilyἀμήνamēn · amenG281
- I sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto theeσύsu · youG4771
- Exceptἐάνean · ifG1437
- Exceptμήmē · notG3361
- a manτιςtis · oneG5100
- be bornγεννάωgennaō · to begetG1080
- ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- the Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- he cannotοὐou · noG3756
- he cannotδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
- enterεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
- intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
- of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
Cross-references for John 3:5
- John 3:3Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.”
- Isaiah 44:3I will pour water on thirsty ground and rain on dry land. I will pour my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.
- Ezekiel 36:25I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean instead of unclean. Then I will cleanse you from all your idols.
- Matthew 3:11I baptize you with water so that you will change the way you think and act. But the one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
- Mark 16:16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
- Acts 2:38Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.
- Ephesians 5:26He did this to make the church holy by cleansing it, washing it using water along with spoken words.
- 1 Peter 1:2God the Father knew you long ago and chose you to live holy lives with the Spirit’s help so that you are obedient to Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood. May good will and peace fill your lives!
- 1 Peter 3:21Baptism, which is like that water, now saves you. Baptism doesn’t save by removing dirt from the body. Rather, baptism is a request to God for a clear conscience. It saves you through Jesus Christ, who came back from death to life.
- 1 John 5:6This Son of God is Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood. He didn’t come with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth.
- John 1:13These people didn’t become God’s children in a physical way—from a human impulse or from a husband’s desire ⌞to have a child⌟. They were born from God.
- Romans 8:2The standards of the Spirit, who gives life through Christ Jesus, have set you free from the standards of sin and death.
- 1 Corinthians 2:12Now, we didn’t receive the spirit that belongs to the world. Instead, we received the Spirit who comes from God so that we could know the things which God has freely given us.
- 1 Corinthians 6:11That’s what some of you were! But you have been washed and made holy, and you have received God’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
- 1 John 2:29If you know that Christ has God’s approval, you also know that everyone who does what God approves of has been born from God.
- 1 John 5:1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born from God. Everyone who loves the Father also loves his children.
Commentaries on John 3:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Of water and of the Spirit - To the baptism of water a man was admitted when he became a proselyte to the Jewish religion; and, in this baptism, he promised in the most solemn manner to renounce idolatry, to take the God of Israel for his God, and to have his life conformed to the precepts of the Divine law. But the water which was used on the occasion was only an emblem of the Holy Spirit. The soul was considered as in a state of defilement, because of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Be born of water - By “water,” here, is evidently signified “baptism.” Thus the word is used in Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5. Baptism was practiced by the Jews in receiving a Gentile as a proselyte. It was practiced by John among the Jews; and Jesus here says that it is an ordinance of his religion, and the sign and seal of the renewing influences of his Spirit. So he said Mark 16:16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” It is clear from these…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5John the Baptist baptized with water. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (1:33).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. of water and of the Spirit--A twofold explanation of the "new birth," so startling to Nicodemus. To a Jewish ecclesiastic, so familiar with the symbolical application of water, in every variety of way and form of expression, this language was fitted to show that the thing intended was no other than a thorough spiritual purification by the operation of the Holy Ghost. Indeed, element of water and operation of the Spirit are brought together in a…Read the comment
Topics related to John 3:5
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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