Passage

John 3.29

Book: John · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"27. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. 28. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him."

"29. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is made full."

"30. He must increase, but I must decrease. 31. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: he that cometh from heaven is above all." (John 3:27-31, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"27. John answered, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven. 28. You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’"

"29. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full."

"30. He must increase, but I must decrease. 31. He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all." (John 3:27-31, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"27. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. ^{receive: or, take unto himself} 28. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him."

"29. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled."

"30. He must increase, but I must decrease. 31. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all." (John 3:27-31, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"27. John answered and said, 'A man is not able to receive anything, if it may not have been given him from the heaven; 28. ye yourselves do testify to me that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am having been sent before him;"

"29. he who is having the bride is bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom, who is standing and hearing him, with joy doth rejoice because of the voice of the bridegroom; this, then, my joy hath been fulfilled."

"30. 'Him it behoveth to increase, and me to become less; 31. he who from above is coming is above all; he who is from the earth, from the earth he is, and from the earth he speaketh; he who from the heaven is coming is above all." (John 3:27-31, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

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.