John 3:7

3:7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’

John 5:42

5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you.

John 8:32

8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:36

8:36 So if the son sets you free, you will be really free.

John 11:53

11:53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.

John 15:27

15:27 and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.


tn “All” has been supplied to indicate the plural pronoun in the Greek text.

tn Or “born again.” The same Greek word with the same double meaning occurs in v. 3.

tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ (thn agaphn tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on the love God gives which in turn produces love for him, but Jesus’ opponents are lacking any such love inside them.

tn Or “the truth will release you.” The translation “set you free” or “release you” (unlike the more traditional “make you free”) conveys more the idea that the hearers were currently in a state of slavery from which they needed to be freed. The following context supports precisely this idea.

tn Or “Son.” The question is whether “son” is to be understood as a direct reference to Jesus himself, or as an indirect reference (a continuation of the generic illustration begun in the previous verse).