John 3:3

3:3 Jesus replied, ¹  “I tell you the solemn truth, ²  unless a person is born from above, ³  he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ 

John 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁵  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ⁶  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

James 1:18

1:18 By his sovereign plan he gave us birth ⁷  through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ⁸  a slave ⁹  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ¹⁰  Greetings!

James 1:3

1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

James 1:23

1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ¹¹  who gazes at his own face ¹²  in a mirror.

James 2:2

2:2 For if someone ¹³  comes into your assembly ¹⁴  wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes,

James 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ¹⁵  do not show prejudice ¹⁶  if you possess faith ¹⁷  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ 

James 3:9

3:9 With it we bless the Lord ¹⁹  and Father, and with it we curse people ²⁰  made in God’s image.

James 4:7

4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 5:1

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ²¹  over the miseries that are coming on you.

James 5:4

5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

James 5:18

5:18 Then ²²  he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.

[3:3]  ¹ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[3:3]  ² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:3]  ³ tn The word ἄνωθεν (anwqen) has a double meaning, either “again” (in which case it is synonymous with παλίν [palin]) or “from above” (BDAG 92 s.v. ἄνωθεν). This is a favorite technique of the author of the Fourth Gospel, and it is lost in almost all translations at this point. John uses the word 5 times, in 3:3, 7; 3:31; 19:11 and 23. In the latter 3 cases the context makes clear that it means “from above.” Here (3:3, 7) it could mean either, but the primary meaning intended by Jesus is “from above.” Nicodemus apparently understood it the other way, which explains his reply, “How can a man be born when he is old? He can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” The author uses the technique of the “misunderstood question” often to bring out a particularly important point: Jesus says something which is misunderstood by the disciples or (as here) someone else, which then gives Jesus the opportunity to explain more fully and in more detail what he really meant.

[3:3]  ⁴ sn What does Jesus’ statement about not being able to see the kingdom of God mean within the framework of John’s Gospel? John uses the word kingdom (βασιλεία, basileia) only 5 times (3:3, 5; 18:36 [3x]). Only here is it qualified with the phrase of God. The fact that John does not stress the concept of the kingdom of God does not mean it is absent from his theology, however. Remember the messianic implications found in John 2, both the wedding and miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the temple. For Nicodemus, the term must surely have brought to mind the messianic kingdom which Messiah was supposed to bring. But Nicodemus had missed precisely this point about who Jesus was. It was the Messiah himself with whom Nicodemus was speaking. Whatever Nicodemus understood, it is clear that the point is this: He misunderstood Jesus’ words. He over-literalized them, and thought Jesus was talking about repeated physical birth, when he was in fact referring to new spiritual birth.

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ⁶ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[1:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “Having willed, he gave us birth.”

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[1:23]  ¹¹ tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:23]  ¹² tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[2:2]  ¹³ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, “equivalent to τὶς someone.”

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “synagogue.” Usually συναγωγή refers to Jewish places of worship (e.g., Matt 4:23, Mark 1:21, Luke 4:15, John 6:59). The word can be used generally to refer to a place of assembly, and here it refers specifically to a Christian assembly (BDAG 963 s.v. 2.b.).

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[3:9]  ¹⁹ tc Most later mss (Ï), along with several versional witnesses, have θεόν (qeon, “God”) here instead of κύριον (kurion, “Lord”). Such is a predictable variant since nowhere else in the NT is God described as “Lord and Father,” but he is called “God and Father” on several occasions. Further, the reading κύριον is well supported by early and diversified witnesses (̲⁰ א A B C P Ψ 33 81 945 1241 1739), rendering it as the overwhelmingly preferred reading.

[3:9]  ²⁰ tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpous) has generic force, referring to both men and women.

[5:1]  ²¹ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[5:18]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events.