God & Savior

John 3:12

If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
John 3:12
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Study notes

If Nicodemus will not believe what Jesus says about earthly things, he will not believe heavenly things.

Explanation

"Earthly things" probably means what Jesus has just said about new birth, which happens here on earth in people's lives. "Heavenly things" points to what follows: the Son of Man who came from heaven and must be lifted up (3:13-15).

Original language
  • ἐπίγεια (epigeia): earthly
    Greek · Adjective, accusative, plural, neuter · Strong's G1919 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Earthly.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:12, word 3

  • ἐπουράνια (epourania): heavenly
    Greek · Adjective, accusative, plural, neuter · Strong's G2032 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Heavenly.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:12, word 14

Cross-references
  • John 3:31 · Surrounding passage

    The One from heaven is above all.

  • John 6:62 · Related verse

    Jesus speaks of the Son of Man ascending to where He was before.

Connected events
  • Nicodemus visits Jesus at night
    This verse is part of it · jerusalem

    This verse is part of the conversation.

    John 3:1-21

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Greek)

εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε;

  1. εἰei“If”
    Conditional · “if” · Strong's G1487G
  2. τὰta“the [things]”
    Article, accusative, plural, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  3. ἐπίγειαepigeia“earthly”
    Adjective, accusative, plural, neuter · from ἐπίγειος · “earthly” · Strong's G1919
  4. εἶπονeipon“I have told”
    Verb, 2nd aorist, active, indicative, 1st person singular · from ἔπω, ἐρῶ, εἶπον · “to say” · Strong's G2036
  5. ὑμῖνhumin“you”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, dative, plural · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771
  6. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  7. οὐou“not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  8. πιστεύετε,pisteuete“you believe,”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 2nd person plural · from πιστεύω · “to trust (in)” · Strong's G4100
  9. πῶςpōs“how”
    Particle, interrogative · from πως · “how?!” · Strong's G4459
  10. ἐὰνean“if”
    Conditional · from ἐάν · “if” · Strong's G1437
  11. εἴπωeipō“I may tell”
    Verb, 2nd aorist, active, subjunctive, 1st person singular · from ἔπω, ἐρῶ, εἶπον · “to say” · Strong's G2036
  12. ὑμῖνhumin“to you”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, dative, plural · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771
  13. τὰta“the [things]”
    Article, accusative, plural, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  14. ἐπουράνιαepourania“heavenly”
    Adjective, accusative, plural, neuter · from ἐπουράνιος · “heavenly” · Strong's G2032
  15. πιστεύσετε;pisteusete“will you believe?”
    Verb, future, active, indicative, 2nd person plural · from πιστεύω · “to trust (in)” · Strong's G4100
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)