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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

John 3:6

Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Heredity;   Holy Spirit;   Jesus, the Christ;   Life;   Man;   Nicodemus;   Regeneration;   Salvation;   Scofield Reference Index - Flesh;   Inspiration;   The Topic Concordance - Flesh;   Holy Spirit;   Kingdom of God;   Rebirth/being Born Again;   Spirit/souls;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Baptism;   Fall of Man, the;   Holy Spirit, the, Is God;   Life, Spiritual;   New Birth, the;   Titles and Names of the Holy Spirit;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Nicodemus;   Regeneration;   Spirit;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Baptism;   John, gospel of;   Life;   Nicodemus;   Regeneration;   Sin;   Spirit;   Teacher;   Water;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Baptize, Baptism;   Disciple, Discipleship;   Holy Spirit;   Jesus Christ, Name and Titles of;   King, Christ as;   Life;   Obedience;   Salvation;   Spirituality;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Episcopacy;   Knowledge of God (1);   Easton Bible Dictionary - Birth;   Nicodemus;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Birth;   Jesus Christ;   Nicodemus;   Noah;   Spirit;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bible, Theology of;   Birth;   Holy Spirit;   Infant Baptism;   New Birth;   Wind;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Children (Sons) of God;   Ethics;   Gospels;   John, Gospel of;   John, Theology of;   Mss;   Nicodemus;   Regeneration;   Scribes;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Communion (2);   Death (2);   Discourse;   Eternal Life (2);   Fall (2);   Flesh (2);   Heart;   Holy Spirit;   Individuality;   Life ;   Man;   Mediator;   Mental Characteristics;   Personality;   Property (2);   Reality;   Regeneration;   Regeneration (2);   Repentance (2);   Righteous, Righteousness;   Sanctify, Sanctification;   Teaching of Jesus;   Trinity (2);   Worldliness (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Flesh,;   Nicodemus ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Regeneration;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Flesh;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Heart;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Tabernacle, the;   Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Baptismal Regeneration;   Bear;   Johannine Theology, the;   Nicodemus;   Regeneration;   Salvation;   Sin (1);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Birth, New;   Holy Spirit;   Nicodemus;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for December 14;   Every Day Light - Devotion for December 4;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Whatever is born of the flesh
King James Version (1611)
That which is borne of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is borne of the spirit, is spirit.
King James Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
English Standard Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
New American Standard Bible
"That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.
New Century Version
Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.
Amplified Bible
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Legacy Standard Bible
That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.
Berean Standard Bible
Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.
Contemporary English Version
Humans give life to their children. Yet only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God.
Complete Jewish Bible
What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit.
Darby Translation
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Easy-to-Read Version
The only life people get from their human parents is physical. But the new life that the Spirit gives a person is spiritual.
Geneva Bible (1587)
That which is borne of the flesh, is flesh: and that that is borne of the Spirit, is spirit.
George Lamsa Translation
What is born of flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Good News Translation
A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit.
Lexham English Bible
What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Literal Translation
That having been generated out of the flesh is flesh, and that having been generated out of the Spirit is spirit.
American Standard Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Bible in Basic English
That which has birth from the flesh is flesh, and that which has birth from the Spirit is spirit.
Hebrew Names Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
International Standard Version
What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Etheridge Translation
Whatever is born of the flesh, is flesh; and whatever is born of the Spirit, is spirit.
Murdock Translation
That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
That which is borne of the fleshe, is fleshe: and that which is borne of the spirite, is spirite.
English Revised Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
World English Bible
That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.
Weymouth's New Testament
Whatever has been born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever has been born of the Spirit is spirit.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`That that is borun of the fleisch, is fleisch; and `that that is borun of spirit, is spirit.
Update Bible Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Webster's Bible Translation
That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.
New English Translation
What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
New King James Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
New Life Bible
Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.
New Revised Standard
What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
That which hath been born of the flesh, is, flesh, and, that which hath been born of the spirit, is, spirit.
Douay-Rheims Bible
That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Revised Standard Version
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
That which is boren of the flesshe is flesshe: and that which is boren of the sprete is sprete.
Young's Literal Translation
that which hath been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the Spirit is spirit.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
That which is borne of flesh, is flesh: & that which is borne of the sprete, is sprete.
Mace New Testament (1729)
the cleansing of the body is only external, but the purification of the spirit is spiritual.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Humans can only make humans, but the Holy Spirit can give birth to spiritual life.

Contextual Overview

1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." 3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." 4 "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" 5 Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don't be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." 9 "How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked. 10 Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

born of the flesh: Genesis 5:3, Genesis 6:5, Genesis 6:12, Job 14:4, Job 15:14-16, Job 25:4, Psalms 51:10, Romans 7:5, Romans 7:18, Romans 7:25, Romans 8:1, Romans 8:4, Romans 8:5-9, Romans 8:13, 1 Corinthians 15:47-49, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:16-21, Galatians 5:24, Ephesians 2:3, Colossians 2:11

that: Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 11:20, Ezekiel 36:26, Ezekiel 36:27, Romans 8:5, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 6:17, Galatians 5:17, 1 John 3:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 6:3 - is Genesis 8:21 - the imagination Job 12:10 - mankind Psalms 51:5 - shapen Psalms 78:39 - For he Proverbs 22:15 - Foolishness Luke 10:13 - repented Luke 11:13 - being John 1:13 - of God John 3:3 - Except Romans 8:8 - they that 1 Corinthians 15:48 - such are they also that are earthy Galatians 5:19 - the works Ephesians 1:19 - exceeding Hebrews 12:9 - fathers

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"
Genesis 3:2
"Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied.
Genesis 3:12
The man replied, "It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it."
Genesis 3:14
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.
Genesis 3:15
And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."
Genesis 3:17
And to the man he said, "Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."
Genesis 6:2
The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives.
Genesis 39:7
and Potiphar's wife soon began to look at him lustfully. "Come and sleep with me," she demanded.
Joshua 7:21
Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon, 200 silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

That which is born of the flesh, is flesh,.... Man by his natural birth, and as he is born according to the flesh of his natural parents, is a mere natural man; that is, he is carnal and corrupt, and cannot discern spiritual things; nor can he, as such, enter into, and inherit the kingdom of God; see 1 Corinthians 2:14. And therefore there is a necessity of his being born again, or of the grace of the Spirit, and of his becoming a spiritual man; and if he was to be, or could be born again of the flesh, or ever so many times enter into his mothers womb, and be born, was it possible, he would still be but a natural and a carnal man, and so unfit for the kingdom of God. By "flesh" here, is not meant the fleshy part of man, the body, as generated of another fleshy substance; for this is no other than what may be said of brutes; and besides, if this was the sense, "spirit", in the next clause, must mean the soul, whereas one soul is not generated from another: but by flesh is designed, the nature of man; not merely as weak and frail, but as unclean and corrupt, through sin; and which being propagated by natural generation from sinful men, cannot be otherwise; for "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one", Job 14:4. And though the soul of man is of a spiritual nature, and remains a spirit, notwithstanding the pollution of sin; yet it being defiled with the flesh, and altogether under the power and influence of the lusts of the flesh, it may well be said to be carnal or fleshly: hence "flesh", as it stands opposed to spirit, signifies the corruption of nature, Galatians 5:17; and such who are in a state of unregeneracy, are said to be after the flesh, and in the flesh, and even the mind itself is said to be carnal, Romans 8:5.

And that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit: a man that is regenerated by the Spirit of God, and the efficacy of his grace, is a spiritual man; he can discern and judge all things of a spiritual nature; he is a fit person to be admitted to spiritual ordinances and privileges; and appears to be in the spiritual kingdom of Christ; and has a right to the world of blessed spirits above; and when his body is raised a spiritual body, will be admitted in soul, body, and spirit, into the joy of his Lord. "Spirit" in the first part of this clause, signifies the Holy Spirit of God, the author of regeneration and sanctification; whence that work is called the sanctification of the Spirit, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, 1 Peter 1:2. And "spirit", in the latter part, intends the internal work of grace upon the soul, from whence a man is denominated a spiritual man; and as a child bears the same name with its parent, so this is called by the same, as the author and efficient cause of it: and besides, it is of a spiritual nature itself, and exerts itself in spiritual acts and exercises, and directs to, and engages in spiritual things; and has its seat also in the spirit, or soul of man.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That which is born of the flesh - To show the necessity of this change, the Saviour directs the attention of Nicodemus to the natural condition of man. By “that which is born of the flesh” he evidently intends man as he is by nature, in the circumstances of his natural birth. Perhaps, also, he alludes to the question asked by Nicodemus, whether a man could be born when he was old? Jesus tells him that if this could be, it would not answer any valuable purpose; he would still have the same propensities and passions. Another change was therefore indispensable.

Is flesh - Partakes of the nature of the parent. Compare Genesis 5:3. As the parents are corrupt and sinful, so will be their descendants. See Job 14:4. And as the parents are wholly corrupt by nature, so their children will be the same. The word “flesh” here is used as meaning “corrupt, defiled, sinful.” The “flesh” in the Scriptures is often used to denote the sinful propensities and passions of our nature, as those propensities are supposed to have their seat in the animal nature. “The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,” etc., Galatians 5:19-20. See also Eph 2:3; 1 Peter 3:21; 1 Peter 2:18; 1 John 2:16; Romans 8:5.

Is born of the Spirit - Of the Spirit of God, or by the agency of the Holy Spirit.

Is spirit - Is spiritual, “like” the spirit, that is, holy, pure. Here we learn:

1.That all men are by nature sinful.

2.That none are renewed but by the Spirit of God. If man did the work himself, it would he still carnal and impure.

3.That the effect of the new birth is to make men holy.

4.And, that no man can have evidence that he is born again who is not holy, and just in proportion as he becomes pure in his life will be the evidence that he is born of the Spirit.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh — This is the answer to the objection made by Nicodemus in John 3:4. Can a man enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Our Lord here intimates that, were even this possible, it would not answer the end; for the plant will ever be of the nature of the seed that produces it-like will beget its like. The kingdom of God is spiritual and holy; and that which is born of the Spirit resembles the Spirit; for as he is who begat, so is he who is begotten of him. Therefore, the spiritual regeneration is essentially necessary, to prepare the soul for a holy and spiritual kingdom.


 
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