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 Living Translation (NLT)And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

Context of John 3:14

12If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

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 21:7Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
• 2 Kings 18:4He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.
• John 8:28Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
• John 12:32And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
• Psalms 22:16For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
• Matthew 26:54How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”
• Luke 18:31Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
• Luke 24:20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.
• Acts 2:23Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
• Acts 4:27“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together

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