1There was a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish religious council. He belonged to the Pharisee religious sect.
2He went to see Jesus at night, to talk to him about God’s kingdom. He said to Jesus, “Teacher, we believe that you are a teacher who has come from God. We believe this because we know that someone could perform the miracles you are doing only if God were helping him.”
3Jesus replied to him, “Listen to this carefully: Unless people are born again and have a new life from God, they cannot even see the place where God rules [MET]!”
4Then Nicodemus said to him, “◄No one can be born when he is old!/How can anyone be born when he is old?► [RHQ] ◄There is no way he can enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time!/How can he enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time?► [RHQ]”
5Jesus answered, “Note this: Being born naturally is not enough; people need to also be born spiritually by God’s Spirit. If that does not happen, they cannot experience God ruling [MET] their lives.
6Humans give birth to humans. But those who are born again as a result of what God’s Spirit does receive a new spiritual nature from God.
7Do not be surprised about my telling you that you must be born again and have a new life from God.
8Let me illustrate: The wind blows wherever it wants to blow. You hear its sound, but you do not know where the wind comes from or where it is going. Similarly, those who do not know God cannot understand/control/predict how people are born again as a result of what God’s spirit does.”
9Nicodemus replied to him, “How can that happen?”
10Jesus replied to him, “You (sg) are a well-known teacher among us Israelite people, so ◄I am surprised that you do not understand these things!/how is it that you do not understand these things?► [RHQ]
11Listen to this carefully: ◄My disciples and I/I► tell you (pl) about the things that my disciples and I have seen and know are true, but you (pl) do not admit that what my disciples and I are saying is true.
12I have told you about the things that happen here on earth that are true, but you (pl) do not believe me. So if I tell you (sg) about things that happen in heaven, ◄you certainly will not believe me!/how will you believe me?► [RHQ]
13I am the only one who has gone up to heaven; no one else has gone up there. I am also the one who came down from heaven. So I know what happens there.
14Long ago when the Israelite people rebelled against God in the desolate area, God sent poisonous snakes to bite them. But when Moses lifted up on a pole the model of a poisonous snake, everyone who looked at that model was healed from their snake bites. Similarly, even though I am the one who came from heaven, some day people will lift me up on a cross to kill me.
15As a result, everyone who believes/trusts in me will have eternal life.”
16God loved us people [MTY] in the world so much that he gave his only Son as a sacrifice for us, in order that everyone who believes in him would not be separated from God forever. Instead, they would have eternal life.
17When God sent his Son into the world, his purpose was not to punish the people in [MTY] the world for their sins. Instead, he sent him in order that they might be saved by him {he might save them} from being ◄guilty/punished► for their sins.
18Everyone who trusts in his Son, God says that they will not be punished {that he will not punish them}. But God has already said that everyone who does not trust in his Son will be punished {that he will punish everyone who does not trust in his Son}, because they have not trusted in what his only Son has done for them.
19The one who was like a light [MET] to reveal God’s truth to us came into the world. But people loved doing what was evil, like darkness [MET] is evil, instead of loving the one who was like a light. That is the reason God will judge people and condemn them.
20Everyone who does what is evil hates the one who is like a light, and they will not come to the one who is like a light, because it would be shown {the one who is like a light would show} that their deeds are evil, and he would rebuke them.
21But those who live according to God’s truth come to the one who is like a light, in order that it may be seen clearly {that people may see clearly} that the things they have done, they did them because they have depended on God.
22Some time later Jesus and we disciples went to Judea district. He stayed with us there and directed us as we baptized people.
23John the Baptizer was also baptizing people. He was doing that at Aenon village near Salim town in Samaria district, because there were many springs in that area. Many people kept coming to John and were being baptized {he was baptizing them}.
24That happened before John was put {they put John} in prison.
25Then some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew started arguing about the Jewish rituals of washing things to make them acceptable to God.
26Then those disciples went to John and said to him, “Teacher, do you remember the man who was with you when you were baptizing people on the other side of the Jordan River? He is the one you were telling us about. Well, now he is baptizing people, and many people are going to him instead of coming to us!”
27John replied, “A person can become important only if God [MTY] permits it. So we should not be jealous about Jesus being popular!
28You yourselves can verify what I said. I told you that I am not ◄the Messiah/God’s promised king►. Instead, I told you that I was sent {that God sent me} to prepare the way for him.
29Let me illustrate [MET]: He is like a ◄bridegroom/man who is being married►, and I am like his friend. The friend of the bridegroom stands there and waits for him to come. That friend is very happy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice when he arrives. Similarly, I am very happy about what you have told me.
30It is necessary for Jesus to become more important by making more disciples than I have, and for me to become less important.”
31Jesus came from heaven. He is more important than anyone else. Those who are born from parents here on earth [MTY] are just humans, and they speak about things that happen here on the earth. But since Jesus came from heaven, his words are more important than anyone else’s.
32He tells people what he has seen and what he heard in heaven, but very few people [HYP] listen to what he says.
33Those who have accepted what he has said verify that what God has said is true.
34We know it is true because Jesus, the one God sent, speaks the message of God. That is also true because God causes his Spirit to live in Jesus to completely direct everything he says and does.
35God loves his Son, and has caused him to have control/power over everything.
36Those who trust in God’s Son have eternal life. But those who reject God’s Son will never have eternal life. Instead, God is angry with them and he will surely punish them.