# John 3.13

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [John](/codex/john-the-apostle/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 11. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 12. <span class="rl-speech">If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?</span>
>
> **13. <span class="rl-speech">And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.</span>**
>
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;</span> 15. <span class="rl-speech">that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.</span> (John 3:11-15, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 11. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span> 12. <span class="rl-speech">If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?</span>
>
> **13. <span class="rl-speech">No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.</span>**
>
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,</span> 15. <span class="rl-speech">that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.</span> (John 3:11-15, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 11. <span class="rl-speech">Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.</span> 12. <span class="rl-speech">If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?</span>
>
> **13. <span class="rl-speech">And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.</span>**
>
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:</span> 15. <span class="rl-speech">That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.</span> (John 3:11-15, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 11. <span class="rl-speech">'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;</span> 12. <span class="rl-speech">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?</span>
>
> **13. <span class="rl-speech">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.</span>**
>
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">'And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up,</span> 15. <span class="rl-speech">that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,</span> (John 3:11-15, 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

- [G5207 - huios](/codex/g5207-huios/), *huios* (Strong's G5207). Also appears in: [Matthew 1.1](/codex/matthew-1-1/), [Matthew 1.20](/codex/matthew-1-20/), [Matthew 1.21](/codex/matthew-1-21/).

## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

<!-- BACKLINKS:START -->
## Quoted in

**Concepts:**

- [Father-Son Authority Asymmetry](/codex/father-son-authority-asymmetry/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [John 3](/codex/john-3/)

**Lexicon:**

- [H3820 - lev](/codex/h3820-lev/), via [John 3.1-15](/codex/john-3-1-15/)

<!-- BACKLINKS:END -->