God & Savior

John 3:7

Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’
John 3:7
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Study notes

Jesus tells Nicodemus not to be surprised that everyone must be born again.

Explanation

In "You must be born again", the word "you" is plural in Greek. Jesus is not singling Nicodemus out. He is stating what is true for everyone.

Original language
  • δεῖ (dei): be necessary
    Greek · Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G1163 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    It is necessary: a strong "must".

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:7, word 6

  • ὑμᾶς (humas): you
    Greek · Personal pronoun, 2nd person, accusative, plural · Strong's G4771 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    You: plural in Greek.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:7, word 7

  • ἄνωθεν (anōthen): from above/again
    Greek · Adverb · Strong's G0509 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Again, or from above.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:7, word 9

Cross-references
  • John 3:3 · Surrounding passage

    The first statement of the need to be born again.

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)

μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι εἶπόν σοι· δεῖ ὑμᾶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν.

  1. μὴmē“Not”
    Particle, negative · from μή · “not” · Strong's G3361
  2. θαυμάσῃςthaumasēs“may do wonder”
    Verb, aorist, active, subjunctive, 2nd person singular · from θαυμάζω · “to marvel” · Strong's G2296
  3. ὅτιhoti“that”
    Conjunction · “that/since” · Strong's G3754G
  4. εἶπόνeipon“I said”
    Verb, 2nd aorist, active, indicative, 1st person singular · from ἔπω, ἐρῶ, εἶπον · “to say” · Strong's G2036
  5. σοι·soi“to you;”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, dative, singular · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771
  6. δεῖdei“It is necessary for”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · “be necessary” · Strong's G1163
  7. ὑμᾶςhumas“you [all]”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, accusative, plural · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771
  8. γεννηθῆναιgennēthēnai“to be born”
    Verb, aorist, passive, infinitive · from γεννάω · “to beget” · Strong's G1080
  9. ἄνωθεν.anōthen“from above.”
    Adverb · from ἄνωθεν · “from above/again” · Strong's G0509
  • 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)