ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

John 3.11-13

Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?"

"11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12. If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13. And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven."

"14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; 15. that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life." (John 3:9-15, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"9. Nicodemus answered him, “How can these things be?” 10. Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?"

"11. Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness. 12. If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13. No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven."

"14. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15. that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:9-15, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"

"11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."

"14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:9-15, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"9. Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'How are these things able to happen?' 10. Jesus answered and said to him, 'Thou art the teacher of Israel, and these things thou dost not know!"

"11. 'Verily, verily, I say to thee, What we have known we speak, and what we have seen we testify, and our testimony ye do not receive; 12. if the earthly things I said to you, and ye do not believe, how, if I shall say to you the heavenly things, will ye believe? 13. and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down, the Son of Man who is in the heaven."

"14. 'And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up, 15. that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during," (John 3:9-15, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: John the Apostle (traditionally) / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
  • Audience: later Christian audience (high-Christological emphasis; against early gnosticism)
  • Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Ephesus (composition)
  • Time period: events c. 26-33 AD (3-Passover chronology); composed c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.