New Living Translation
John 3:17
17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
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
15so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
Read all of John 3John 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“Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes.
- John 8:15You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone.
- John 12:47I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.
- Luke 9:56So they went on to another village.
- John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
- John 6:40For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
- Isaiah 45:21Consult together, argue your case. Get together and decide what to say. Who made these things known so long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the Lord? For there is no other God but me, a righteous God and Savior. There is none but me.
- Isaiah 49:6He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
- Isaiah 53:10But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
- Zechariah 9:9Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.
- Matthew 1:23“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
- Luke 2:10but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
- Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
- 1 Timothy 2:5For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
- 1 John 2:2He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the 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
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
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