New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
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Now there was among the Pharisees a man named Nicodemus, who was one of the rulers of the Jews.
2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
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He came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we are certain that you have come from God as a teacher, because no man would be able to do these signs which you do if God was not with him.
3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
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Jesus said to him, Truly, I say to you, Without a new birth no man is able to see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"
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Nicodemus said to him, How is it possible for a man to be given birth when he is old? Is he able to go into his mother's body a second time and come to birth again?
5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
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Jesus said in answer, Truly, I say to you, If a man's birth is not from water and from the Spirit, it is not possible for him to go into the kingdom of God.
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
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That which has birth from the flesh is flesh, and that which has birth from the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.'
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Do not be surprised that I say to you, It is necessary for you to have a second birth.
8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
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The wind goes where its pleasure takes it, and the sound of it comes to your ears, but you are unable to say where it comes from and where it goes: so it is with everyone whose birth is from the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"
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And Nicodemus said to him, How is it possible for these things to be?
10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
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And Jesus, answering, said, Are you the teacher of Israel and have no knowledge of these things?
11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.
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Truly, I say to you, We say that of which we have knowledge; we give witness of what we have seen; and you do not take our witness to be true.
12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
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If you have no belief when my words are about the things of earth, how will you have belief if my words are about the things of heaven?
13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
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And no one has ever gone up to heaven but he who came down from heaven, the Son of man.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
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As the snake was lifted up by Moses in the waste land, even so it is necessary for the Son of man to be lifted up:
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
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So that whoever has faith may have in him eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
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For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life.
17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
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God did not send his Son into the world to be judge of the world; he sent him so that the world might have salvation through him.
18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
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The man who has faith in him does not come up to be judged; but he who has no faith in him has been judged even now, because he has no faith in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
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And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.
20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
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The light is hated by everyone whose acts are evil and he does not come to the light for fear that his acts will be seen.
21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."
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But he whose life is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his acts have been done by the help of God.
22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized.
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After these things Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judaea, and there he was with them for some time, giving baptism.
23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized
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Now John was then giving baptism at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were given baptism.
24 —John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.
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For at this time John had not been put into prison.
25 Now a discussion about purification arose between John's disciples and a Jew.
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Then a question came up between John's disciples and a Jew about washing.
26 They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him."
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And they went to John and said to him, Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the man to whom you gave witness, is now giving baptism, and everyone is going to him.
27 John answered, "No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
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And this was John's answer: A man is unable to have anything if it is not given to him from heaven.
28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, "I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.'
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You yourselves give witness that I said, I am not the Christ. What I said was, I am sent before the Christ.
29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled.
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He who has the bride is the husband: but the husband's friend, whose place is by his side and whose ears are open to him, is full of joy because of the husband's voice: such is my joy, and it is complete.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease."
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He has to become greater while I become less.
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all.
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He who comes from heaven is greater than all others: he who comes from earth is of the earth, and of the earth are his words: he who comes from heaven is over all.
32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.
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He gives witness of what he has seen and of what has come to his ears; and no man takes his witness as true.
33 Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true.
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He who so takes his witness has made clear his faith that God is true.
34 He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
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For he whom God has sent says God's words; and God does not give him the Spirit by measure.
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands.
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The Father has love for the Son and has put all things into his hands.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath.
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He who has faith in the Son has eternal life; but he who has not faith in the Son will not see life; God's wrath is resting on him.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.