God & Savior

John 3:4

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”
John 3:4
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Study notes

Nicodemus takes Jesus' words literally and asks how an old man could be born a second time.

Explanation

Nicodemus hears "born again" as a second physical birth and points out that it is impossible. This is a pattern in John's Gospel: people take Jesus' words at the most ordinary level, and Jesus then explains a deeper meaning (compare 4:10-15; 6:51-52).

Original language
  • γέρων (gerōn): an old man
    Greek · Noun, nominative, singular, masculine · Strong's G1088 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Old: Nicodemus speaks as an older man.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:4, word 10

  • δεύτερον (deuteron): secondly
    Greek · Adjective, accusative, singular, neuter · Strong's G1208 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    A second time: he understands "again" as a repeat of natural birth.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:4, word 20

Cross-references
  • John 4:10-15 · Related verse

    The woman at the well also takes Jesus' words about water literally.

  • John 6:51-52 · Related verse

    The crowd misunderstands Jesus' words about bread.

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)

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;

  1. ΛέγειLegei“Says”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from λέγω · “to speak” · Strong's G3004G
  2. πρὸςpros“to”
    Preposition · from πρός · “to/with” · Strong's G4314
  3. αὐτὸνauton“Him”
    Personal pronoun, accusative, singular, masculine · from αὐτός · “he/she/it/self” · Strong's G0846
  4. ὁho“<the>”
    Article, nominative, singular, masculine · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  5. Νικόδημος·Nikodēmos“Nicodemus;”
    Noun, nominative, singular, masculine · from Νικόδημος · “Nicodemus” · Strong's G3530
  6. πῶςpōs“How”
    Particle, interrogative · from πως · “how?!” · Strong's G4459
  7. δύναταιdunatai“is able”
    Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · from δύναμαι · “be able” · Strong's G1410
  8. ἄνθρωποςanthrōpos“a man”
    Noun, nominative, singular, masculine · “a human” · Strong's G0444
  9. γεννηθῆναιgennēthēnai“to be born”
    Verb, aorist, passive, infinitive · from γεννάω · “to beget” · Strong's G1080
  10. γέρωνgerōn“old”
    Noun, nominative, singular, masculine · “an old man” · Strong's G1088
  11. ὤν;ōn“being?”
    Verb, present, active, participle, nominative, singular, masculine · from εἰμί · “to be” · Strong's G1510
  12. μὴmē“Not”
    Particle, negative · from μή · “not” · Strong's G3361
  13. δύναταιdunatai“is he able”
    Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · from δύναμαι · “be able” · Strong's G1410
  14. εἰςeis“into”
    Preposition · “toward” · Strong's G1519
  15. τὴνtēn“the”
    Article, accusative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  16. κοιλίανkoilian“womb”
    Noun, accusative, singular, feminine · from κοιλία · “belly/womb/stomach” · Strong's G2836
  17. τῆςtēs“of the”
    Article, genitive, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  18. μητρὸςmētros“mother”
    Noun, genitive, singular, feminine · from μήτηρ · “mother” · Strong's G3384
  19. αὐτοῦautou“of him”
    Personal pronoun, genitive, singular, masculine · from αὐτός · “he/she/it/self” · Strong's G0846
  20. δεύτερονdeuteron“a second time”
    Adjective, accusative, singular, neuter · from δεύτερος · “secondly” · Strong's G1208
  21. εἰσελθεῖνeiselthein“to enter”
    Verb, 2nd aorist, active, infinitive · from εἰσέρχομαι · “to enter” · Strong's G1525
  22. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  23. γεννηθῆναι;gennēthēnai“to be born?”
    Verb, aorist, passive, infinitive · from γεννάω · “to beget” · Strong's G1080
  • 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)