John 3:16
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John 3:16 (chapter 3, verse 16 of the Gospel of John) is one of the most widely quoted verses from the Christian Bible. It has been called the "Bible in a nutshell" because it is considered a summary of some of the most central doctrines of traditional Christianity:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
A typical interpretation of the verse might go as follows:
- For God so loved the world... - God is a God of love and this love motivates his action in the rest of the verse
- ...that he gave... - there was God giving something, his son as a sacrifice
- ...his only begotten[1] Son... - the human Jesus of Nazareth is also the Son of God, and also the Second Person of the Trinity
- ...that whosoever... - that salvation is open to all who will believe
- ...believeth... - being saved is based on belief or faith, rather than based on human works.
- ...in him... - the belief being in Jesus, the Saviour
- ...should not perish... - implies the fate of those who do not believe, that is the doctrine of hell
- ...but have everlasting life. - shows the reward of those who believe, that is the doctrine of heaven
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[edit] Translations
The verse in the original Greek is as follows (associated Strong's Number in superscript):
- Οὕτως3779 γὰρ1063 ἠγάπησεν25 ὁ3588 Θεὸς2316 τὸν3588 κόσμον2889, ὥστε5620 τὸν3588 Υἱὸν5207 τὸν3588 μονογενῆ3439 ἔδωκεν1325, ἵνα2443 πᾶς3956 ὁ3588 πιστεύων4100 εἰς1519 Αὐτὸν846 μὴ3361 ἀπόληται622 ἀλλ᾽235 ἔχῃ2192 ζωὴν2222 αἰώνιον166
Which could be translated literally to mean:
- For in this way God loved the world: that he gave the unique[1] son, so that all the ones trusting in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.
The more familiar King James Version renders it as:
- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
| Translation | John 3:16 |
|---|---|
| Greek | Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν Υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς Αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ᾽ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. |
| American Standard Version | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. |
| Amplified Bible | For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. |
| A Voice In The Wilderness Holy Scriptures | For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone believing into Him should not perish but have eternal life. |
| Bible in Basic English | For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life. |
| Concordant Version | For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian. |
| Contemporary English Version | God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. |
| Douai-Rheims Bible, Challoner Revision | For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. |
| English Standard Version | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. |
| Geneva Bible | For God so loved the world, that he hath given his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have euerlasting life. |
| GOD'S WORD | God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. |
| Good News Translation | For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible | For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life. |
| International Standard Version | For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. |
| Jerusalem Bible | Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. |
| King James Version | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. |
| HSV | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. |
| The Living Bible | For God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. |
| The Message | This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. |
| New American Bible | For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. |
| New American Standard Bible | For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. |
| New American Standard Bible Update | For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
| New Century Version | God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. |
| New English Bible | God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life. |
| New English Translation | For this is the way God loved the world: he gave his one and only Son that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. |
| New International Readers Version | God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. |
| New International Version | For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. |
| New Jerusalem Bible | For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. |
| New King James Version | For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. |
| New Living Translation | For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. |
| New Revised Standard Version | For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. |
| New World Translation | For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. |
| Recovery Version | For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life. |
| Revised English Bible | God so loved the world that he gave he gave his only son that everyone who has faith in him may not perish but have eternal life |
| Revised Standard Version | For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. |
| Revised Version | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. |
| Today's New International Version | For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. |
| William Tyndale | For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only son, that none that believe in him, should perish: but should have everlasting life. |
| World English Bible | For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. |
| the word on the street | Cos God's so passionate about the planet that he donates his one and only Son. Whoever invests their life in his Son doesn't die, but gets given this limitless life. |
[edit] Other information
Translations of this verse into various language are a familiar part of the front matter of Gideon Bibles.
The text of the verse is also incorporated into the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, as part of a prayer said by the celebrant. This Divine Liturgy is commonly used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and in the Byzantine rite of the Roman Catholic Church.
The various translations differ on whether this is a direct quote of Jesus or a comment of the narrator of the Gospel.
The computer scientist Donald Knuth produced an illustrated re-translation of Chapter 3, verse 16 of every book in the Bible, 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated (ISBN 0-89579-252-4). 3:16 was chosen because of this key passage in John. Knuth's Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About reproduces a lecture series that he gave at MIT, centred on his process of production of his book on 3:16.
[edit] Allusions to
- The phrase "John 3:16" is very short and can be written inconspicuously in out-of-the-way locations.
- U.S.-based In-N-Out Burger chain prints it on the inside of the bottom rim of their paper cups and their french fry containers.
- U.S.-based clothing chains Forever 21 and Heritage 1981 print it on the bottom of their shopping bags.
- The citation can also be printed in large letters on small signs. Some people (such as the Rainbow Man) display the reference at sporting events, seeking the attention of fellow fans, the staff controlling the venue's giant video screens, and if the game is televised, the television audience. A fictional example occurs in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire. A John 3:16 sign is prominently visible in the football game crowd during the sequence in which Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) is knocked unconscious.
- The TV show Family Guy parodies this phenomenon by Brian looking the verse up before a Red Sox baseball game and announcing that it reads And the Lord said "Go Sox."
- Former WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin also parodied this verse with the phrase "Austin 3:16", which said "I just whipped your ass" according to Austin. Steve Austin has insisted that the phrase was not sacrilegious or meant to mock Christianity at all. It was originally conceived when Austin mocked Jake Roberts, who, at the time, had a religious gimmick.
- In a Pearls Before Swine strip, Pig thinks people holding signs reading "John 3:16" during football games are all the same person. He also thinks the person in question does this "so his friend John can know what time it is when he forgets his watch". While watching another one he states "Great. Now Luke forgot his watch."
- Video artist Paul Pfeiffer, who specializes in video installation works, created a piece called “John 3:16” in which he digitally edited footage from a basketball game so that the ball always stays the same size in the center of the frame. This was presented as a two-minute loop on a small LCD screen attached to a mounting arm.
- Rapper Wyclef Jean made a song titled "John 3:16" together with DJ Muggs, featured on Muggs "Soul Assassins" album.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Most modern translations use "unique Son", "only Son", and the like, because the second root-word of μονογενής is now understood to be γένος (genos "kind, type") rather than γεννάω ("to beget, to father"); hence "only + kind" rather than "only + begotten". See discussion in Louw and Nida, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, p. 591; Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek new Testament, pp. 416-17; Bauer, Danker, Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (2nd edt.), p. 527 (the Bauer lexicon).
[edit] See also
- For a comparison with Old Testament verses, see Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 1:3.
