1There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, an important Jewish leader.
2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Teacher, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one can do these miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him."
3Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, unless someone is born again, he cannot see God's Kingdom."
4Nicodemus asked him, "How can a person be born when they are old? They can't go back into their mother's womb and be born a second time, can they?"
5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, they cannot enter God's Kingdom.
6What is born of the body is physical; what is born of the Spirit is spiritual.
7Don't be surprised when I say to you, 'You must be born again.'
8The wind blows wherever it wants. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. That's how it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
9Nicodemus asked him, "How can these things be?"
10Jesus answered, "You are an important teacher in Israel, and you still don't understand these things?
11I tell you the truth, we speak about what we know, and we testify about what we have seen, but you people don't accept our testimony.
12If you don't believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how will you believe me if I tell you about heavenly things?
13No one has gone up into heaven except the one who came down from heaven—the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18Whoever believes in him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
19This is the basis for judgment: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their actions were evil.
20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and they don't come into the light so that their actions won't be exposed.
21But the person who lives by the truth comes into the light so that it can be seen that their actions are done through God.
22After these events, Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them and was baptizing people.
23John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim because there was plenty of water there. People kept coming and being baptized.
24This was before John had been put in prison.
25Then an argument started between John’s disciples and some Jews about the ritual washing.
26They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him!"
27John answered, "A person can only receive whatever God gives them from heaven."
28You yourselves can confirm that I said, 'I am not the Messiah,' but instead, 'I have been sent ahead of him.'
29The one who has the bride is the groom. But the groom's friend, who stands and listens to him, is filled with joy when he hears the groom's voice. This is why my joy is now complete.
30He must become more important, and I must become less important.
31The one who comes from above is above everyone else. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above everyone else.
32He testifies about what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.
33Whoever accepts his testimony confirms that God is truthful.
34For the one whom God sent speaks God's words, because God gives the Spirit without limit.
35The Father loves the Son and has given everything into his power.
36Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life. But anyone who disobeys the Son will not experience life; instead, God's anger remains on them.