Yohanes 3:6

3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, ¹  and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Yohanes 16:21

16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ²  because her time ³  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ⁴  has been born into the world. ⁵ 

Yohanes 3:7

3:7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all ⁶  be born from above.’ ⁷ 

Yohanes 9:1

Healing a Man Born Blind

9:1 Now as Jesus was passing by, ⁸  he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

Yohanes 3:4

3:4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?” ⁹ 

Yohanes 9:20

9:20 So his parents replied, ¹⁰  “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.

Yohanes 9:32

9:32 Never before ¹¹  has anyone heard of someone causing a man born blind to see. ¹² 

Yohanes 9:19

9:19 They asked the parents, ¹³  “Is this your son, whom you say ¹⁴  was born blind? Then how does he now see?”

Yohanes 9:2

9:2 His disciples asked him, ¹⁵  “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man ¹⁶  or his parents?” ¹⁷ 

Yohanes 3:3

3:3 Jesus replied, ¹⁸  “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁹  unless a person is born from above, ²⁰  he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ²¹ 

Yohanes 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ²²  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ²³  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Yohanes 9:34

9:34 They replied, ²⁴  “You were born completely in sinfulness, ²⁵  and yet you presume to teach us?” ²⁶  So they threw him out.

Yohanes 3:8

3:8 The wind ²⁷  blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ²⁸ 

Yohanes 8:41

8:41 You people ²⁹  are doing the deeds of your father.”

Then ³⁰  they said to Jesus, ³¹  “We were not born as a result of immorality! ³²  We have only one Father, God himself.”

Yohanes 18:37

18:37 Then Pilate said, ³³  “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to ³⁴  my voice.”

Yohanes 7:28

7:28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts, ³⁵  cried out, ³⁶  “You both know me and know where I come from! ³⁷  And I have not come on my own initiative, ³⁸  but the one who sent me ³⁹  is true. You do not know him, ⁴⁰ 

Yohanes 1:13

1:13 – children not born ⁴¹  by human parents ⁴²  or by human desire ⁴³  or a husband’s ⁴⁴  decision, ⁴⁵  but by God.

Yohanes 8:58

8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴⁶  before Abraham came into existence, ⁴⁷  I am!” ⁴⁸ 

Yohanes 6:63

6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! ⁴⁹  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ⁵⁰ 

Yohanes 7:41

7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ⁵¹  But still others said, “No, ⁵²  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁵³ 

Yohanes 9:3

9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man ⁵⁴  nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that ⁵⁵  the acts ⁵⁶  of God may be revealed ⁵⁷  through what happens to him. ⁵⁸ 

Yohanes 7:42

7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant ⁵⁹  of David ⁶⁰  and comes from Bethlehem, ⁶¹  the village where David lived?” ⁶² 

Yohanes 1:30

1:30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, ⁶³  because he existed before me.’

Yohanes 7:27

7:27 But we know where this man ⁶⁴  comes from. ⁶⁵  Whenever the Christ ⁶⁶  comes, no one will know where he comes from.” ⁶⁷ 

[3:6]  ¹ sn What is born of the flesh is flesh, i.e., what is born of physical heritage is physical. (It is interesting to compare this terminology with that of the dialogue in John 4, especially 4:23, 24.) For John the “flesh” (σάρξ, sarx) emphasizes merely the weakness and mortality of the creature – a neutral term, not necessarily sinful as in Paul. This is confirmed by the reference in John 1:14 to the Logos becoming “flesh.” The author avoids associating sinfulness with the incarnate Christ.

[16:21]  ² sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ³ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ⁵ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.

[3:7]  ⁶ tn “All” has been supplied to indicate the plural pronoun in the Greek text.

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Or “born again.” The same Greek word with the same double meaning occurs in v. 3.

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Or “going along.” The opening words of chap. 9, καὶ παράγων (kai paragwn), convey only the vaguest indication of the circumstances.

[9:1]  sn Since there is no break with chap. 8, Jesus is presumably still in Jerusalem, and presumably not still in the temple area. The events of chap. 9 fall somewhere between the feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2) and the feast of the Dedication (John 10:22). But in the author’s narrative the connection exists – the incident recorded in chap. 9 (along with the ensuing debates with the Pharisees) serves as a real-life illustration of the claim Jesus made in 8:12, I am the light of the world. This is in fact the probable theological motivation behind the juxtaposition of these two incidents in the narrative. The second serves as an illustration of the first, and as a concrete example of the victory of light over darkness. One other thing which should be pointed out about the miracle recorded in chap. 9 is its messianic significance. In the OT it is God himself who is associated with the giving of sight to the blind (Exod 4:11, Ps 146:8). In a number of passages in Isa (29:18, 35:5, 42:7) it is considered to be a messianic activity.

[3:4]  ⁹ tn The grammatical structure of the question in Greek presupposes a negative reply.

[9:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “So his parents answered and said.”

[9:32]  ¹¹ tn Or “Never from the beginning of time,” Grk “From eternity.”

[9:32]  ¹² tn Grk “someone opening the eyes of a man born blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:19]  ¹³ tn Grk “and they asked them, saying”; the referent (the parents) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:19]  ¹⁴ tn The Greek pronoun and verb are both plural (both parents are addressed).

[9:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “asked him, saying.”

[9:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in order that he should be born blind.”

[9:2]  sn The disciples assumed that sin (regardless of who committed it) was the cause of the man’s blindness. This was a common belief in Judaism; the rabbis used Ezek 18:20 to prove there was no death without sin, and Ps 89:33 to prove there was no punishment without guilt (the Babylonian Talmud, b. Shabbat 55a, although later than the NT, illustrates this). Thus in this case the sin must have been on the part of the man’s parents, or during his own prenatal existence. Song Rabbah 1:41 (another later rabbinic work) stated that when a pregnant woman worshiped in a heathen temple the unborn child also committed idolatry. This is only one example of how, in rabbinic Jewish thought, an unborn child was capable of sinning.

[3:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[3:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:3]  ²⁰ tn The word ἄνωθεν (anwqen) has a double meaning, either “again” (in which case it is synonymous with παλίν [palin]) or “from above” (BDAG 92 s.v. ἄνωθεν). This is a favorite technique of the author of the Fourth Gospel, and it is lost in almost all translations at this point. John uses the word 5 times, in 3:3, 7; 3:31; 19:11 and 23. In the latter 3 cases the context makes clear that it means “from above.” Here (3:3, 7) it could mean either, but the primary meaning intended by Jesus is “from above.” Nicodemus apparently understood it the other way, which explains his reply, “How can a man be born when he is old? He can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” The author uses the technique of the “misunderstood question” often to bring out a particularly important point: Jesus says something which is misunderstood by the disciples or (as here) someone else, which then gives Jesus the opportunity to explain more fully and in more detail what he really meant.

[3:3]  sn Or born again. The Greek word ἄνωθεν (anwqen) can mean both “again” and “from above,” giving rise to Nicodemus’ misunderstanding about a second physical birth (v. 4).

[3:3]  ²¹ sn What does Jesus’ statement about not being able to see the kingdom of God mean within the framework of John’s Gospel? John uses the word kingdom (βασιλεία, basileia) only 5 times (3:3, 5; 18:36 [3x]). Only here is it qualified with the phrase of God. The fact that John does not stress the concept of the kingdom of God does not mean it is absent from his theology, however. Remember the messianic implications found in John 2, both the wedding and miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the temple. For Nicodemus, the term must surely have brought to mind the messianic kingdom which Messiah was supposed to bring. But Nicodemus had missed precisely this point about who Jesus was. It was the Messiah himself with whom Nicodemus was speaking. Whatever Nicodemus understood, it is clear that the point is this: He misunderstood Jesus’ words. He over-literalized them, and thought Jesus was talking about repeated physical birth, when he was in fact referring to new spiritual birth.

[3:5]  ²² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ²³ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[3:5]  sn Jesus’ somewhat enigmatic statement points to the necessity of being born “from above,” because water and wind/spirit/Spirit come from above. Isaiah 44:3-5 and Ezek 37:9-10 are pertinent examples of water and wind as life-giving symbols of the Spirit of God in his work among people. Both occur in contexts that deal with the future restoration of Israel as a nation prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It is therefore particularly appropriate that Jesus should introduce them in a conversation about entering the kingdom of God. Note that the Greek word πνεύματος is anarthrous (has no article) in v. 5. This does not mean that spirit in the verse should be read as a direct reference to the Holy Spirit, but that both water and wind are figures (based on passages in the OT, which Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel should have known) that represent the regenerating work of the Spirit in the lives of men and women.

[9:34]  ²⁴ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “They replied.”

[9:34]  ²⁵ tn Or “From birth you have been evil.” The implication of this insult, in the context of John 9, is that the man whom Jesus caused to see had not previously adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees. Thus he had no right to instruct them about who Jesus was.

[9:34]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and are you teaching us?”

[3:8]  ²⁷ tn The same Greek word, πνεύματος (pneumatos), may be translated “wind” or “spirit.”

[3:8]  ²⁸ sn Again, the physical illustrates the spiritual, although the force is heightened by the word-play here on wind-spirit (see the note on wind at the beginning of this verse). By the end of the verse, however, the final usage of πνεύματος (pneumatos) refers to the Holy Spirit.

[8:41]  ²⁹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:41]  ³⁰ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א B L W 070 it sy^s,p co) lack the conjunction here, while the earliest witnesses along with many others read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì^66,75 C D Θ Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the combined testimony of two early papyri for the conjunction is impressive, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 52). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:41]  ³¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ³² sn We were not born as a result of immorality! is ironic, because Jesus’ opponents implied that it was not themselves but Jesus who had been born as a result of immoral behavior. This shows they did not know Jesus’ true origin and were not aware of the supernatural events surrounding his birth. The author does not even bother to refute the opponents’ suggestion but lets it stand, assuming his readers will know the true story.

[18:37]  ³³ tn Grk “said to him.”

[18:37]  ³⁴ tn Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”

[7:28]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the temple.”

[7:28]  ³⁶ tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”

[7:28]  ³⁷ sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult – it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.

[7:28]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”

[7:28]  ³⁹ tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.

[7:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”

[1:13]  ⁴¹ tn The Greek term translated “born” here also involves conception.

[1:13]  ⁴² tn Grk “of blood(s).” The plural αἱμάτων (Jaimatwn) has seemed a problem to many interpreters. At least some sources in antiquity imply that blood was thought of as being important in the development of the fetus during its time in the womb: thus Wis 7:1: “in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh, within the period of 10 months, compacted with blood, from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.” In John 1:13, the plural αἱμάτων may imply the action of both parents. It may also refer to the “genetic” contribution of both parents, and so be equivalent to “human descent” (see BDAG 26 s.v. αἷμα 1.a). E. C. Hoskyns thinks John could not have used the singular here because Christians are in fact ‘begotten’ by the blood of Christ (The Fourth Gospel, 143), although the context would seem to make it clear that the blood in question is something other than the blood of Christ.

[1:13]  ⁴³ tn Or “of the will of the flesh.” The phrase οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός (oude ek qelhmato" sarko") is more clearly a reference to sexual desire, but it should be noted that σάρξ (sarx) in John does not convey the evil sense common in Pauline usage. For John it refers to the physical nature in its weakness rather than in its sinfulness. There is no clearer confirmation of this than the immediately following verse, where the λόγος (logos) became σάρξ.

[1:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “man’s.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁵ tn The third phrase, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός (oude ek qelhmato" andros), means much the same as the second one. The word here (ἀνηρ, anhr) is often used for a husband, resulting in the translation “or a husband’s decision,” or more generally, “or of any human volition whatsoever.” L. Morris may be right when he sees here an emphasis directed at the Jewish pride in race and patriarchal ancestry, although such a specific reference is difficult to prove (John [NICNT], 101).

[8:58]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:58]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “before Abraham was.”

[8:58]  ⁴⁸ sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).

[6:63]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”

[6:63]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”

[7:41]  ⁵¹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:41]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:41]  ⁵² tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

[7:41]  ⁵³ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).

[9:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “but so that.” There is an ellipsis that must be supplied: “but [he was born blind] so that” or “but [it happened to him] so that.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “deeds”; Grk “works.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “manifested,” “brought to light.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “in him.”

[7:42]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).

[7:42]  ⁶⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.

[7:42]  ⁶¹ sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.

[7:42]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[7:42]  ⁶² tn Grk “the village where David was.”

[1:30]  ⁶³ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”

[7:27]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:27]  ⁶⁵ sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.

[7:27]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:27]  ⁶⁷ sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.