John 3 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

There was a man from the Pharisee group named Nicodemus — he was one of the Jewish ruling council members.

He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you're a teacher who has come from God. No one could do the miraculous signs you're doing unless God were with him."

Jesus answered him, "I'm telling you the absolute truth: unless someone is born from above, they can't even see God's kingdom."

Nicodemus said, "How can someone be born when they're already old? They can't go back into their mother's womb and be born a second time, can they?"

Jesus answered, "I'm telling you the absolute truth: unless someone is born of water and the Breath, they can't enter God's kingdom."

What's born from human nature is human. What's born from the Breath is of the Breath.

Don't be shocked that I told you, 'You must be born from above.'

The wind blows wherever it wants to — you hear it, but you have no idea where it's coming from or where it's going. That's how it is with everyone born of the Breath.

"How can this be possible?" Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, "You're the teacher of Israel and you don't understand these things?"

I'm telling you the absolute truth: we speak about what we know and testify to what we've actually seen, but you all still don't accept our testimony.

If I told you about things that happen on earth and you don't believe, how are you going to believe when I tell you about heavenly things?

No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven — the Son of Man.

And just like Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, the Son of Man has to be lifted up,

so that everyone who trusts in him will have limitless life.

This is how deeply God cared for the world — he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who trusts in him won't be destroyed but will have limitless life.

Because God didn't send his Son into the world to condemn the world — he sent him to rescue it.

Anyone who trusts in him isn't condemned. But anyone who doesn't trust stands condemned already, because they haven't trusted in the name of God's one and only Son.

And this is the basis for the judgment: the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were corrupt.

Everyone who does corrupt things hates the light and won't come near it, because the light would expose their actions.

But anyone who lives by the truth comes toward the light, so that it becomes clear their actions have been done through God.

After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent time there with them, submerging people.

John was also submerging people at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there, and people kept coming to be submerged.

(This was before John had been thrown in prison.)

Now a debate broke out between some of John's followers and a Jewish man about ceremonial cleansing.

They went to John and said, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan — the one you testified about — look, he's submerging people too, and everyone's going to him instead!"

John answered, "A person can't receive anything unless it's been given to them from heaven."

You yourselves can confirm that I said, 'I'm not The One — I've just been sent ahead of him.'

The groom is the one who has the bride. But the groom's friend, who stands nearby and listens for him, is overjoyed when he hears the groom's voice. So this joy of mine is now complete.

He must increase, and I must decrease.

The one who comes from above is above everything. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks from an earthly perspective. The one who comes from heaven is above everything.

He testifies to what he's seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.

But whoever does accept his testimony has confirmed that God is true.

The one God sent speaks God's words, because God gives the Breath without limit.

The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.

The person who trusts in the Son has limitless life. But the person who refuses to trust the Son won't see life — instead, God's intense displeasure remains on them.