John 3:3-19

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.