Erat autem homo ex pharisæis, Nicodemus nomine, princeps Judæorum.

And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

There was a man called Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and one of the rulers of the Jews,

Hic venit ad Jesum nocte, et dixit ei: Rabbi, scimus quia a Deo venisti magister, nemo enim potest hæc signa facere, quæ tu facis, nisi fuerit Deus cum eo.

This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him: Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God; for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless God be with him.

who came to see Jesus by night; Master, he said to him, we know that thou hast come from God to teach us; no one, unless God were with him, could do the miracles which thou doest.

Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Amen, amen dico tibi, nisi quis renatus fuerit denuo, non potest videre regnum Dei.

Jesus answered, and said to him: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jesus answered him, Believe me when I tell thee this; a man cannot see the kingdom of God without being born anew.

Dicit ad eum Nicodemus: Quomodo potest homo nasci, cum sit senex? numquid potest in ventrem matris suæ iterato introire et renasci?

Nicodemus saith to him: How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again?

Why, Nicodemus asked him, how is it possible that a man should be born when he is already old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and so come to birth?

Respondit Jesus: Amen, amen dico tibi, nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua, et Spiritu Sancto, non potest introire in regnum Dei.

Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Jesus answered, Believe me, no man can enter into the kingdom of God unless birth comes to him from water, and from the Holy Spirit.

Quod natum est ex carne, caro est: et quod natum est ex spiritu, spiritus est.

That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.

What is born by natural birth is a thing of nature, what is born by spiritual birth is a thing of spirit.

Non mireris quia dixi tibi: oportet vos nasci denuo.

Wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again.

Do not be surprised, then, at my telling thee, You must be born anew.

Spiritus ubi vult spirat, et vocem ejus audis, sed nescis unde veniat, aut quo vadat: sic est omnis qui natus est ex spiritu.

The Spirit breatheth where he will; and thou hearest his voice, but thou knowest not whence he cometh, and whither he goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

The wind breathes where it will, and thou canst hear the sound of it, but knowest nothing of the way it came or the way it goes; so it is, when a man is born by the breath of the Spirit.

Respondit Nicodemus, et dixit ei: Quomodo possunt hæc fieri?

Nicodemus answered, and said to him: How can these things be done?

Nicodemus answered him, How can such things come to be?

Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Tu es magister in Israël, et hæc ignoras?

Jesus answered, and said to him: Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?

What, answered Jesus, can such things be strange to thee, who art one of the teachers of Israel?

Amen, amen dico tibi, quia quod scimus loquimur, et quod vidimus testamur, et testimonium nostrum non accipitis.

Amen, amen I say to thee, that we speak what we know, and we testify what we have seen, and you receive not our testimony.

Believe me, we speak of what is known to us, and testify of what our eyes have seen, and still you will not accept our testimony.

Si terrena dixi vobis, et non creditis: quomodo, si dixero vobis cælestia, credetis?

If I have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not; how will you believe, if I shall speak to you heavenly things?

You cannot trust me when I tell you of what passes on earth; how will you be able to trust me when I tell you of what passes in heaven?

Et nemo ascendit in cælum, nisi qui descendit de cælo, Filius hominis, qui est in cælo.

And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.

No man has ever gone up into heaven; but there is one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man, who dwells in heaven.

Et sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up:

And this Son of Man must be lifted up, as the serpent was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness;

ut omnis qui credit in ipsum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam.

That whosoever believeth in him, may not perish; but may have life everlasting.

so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life.

Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret: ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam.

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.

God so loved the world, that he gave up his only-begotten Son, so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life.

Non enim misit Deus Filium suum in mundum, ut judicet mundum, sed ut salvetur mundus per ipsum.

For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him.

When God sent his Son into the world, it was not to reject the world, but so that the world might find salvation through him.

Qui credit in eum, non judicatur; qui autem non credit, jam judicatus est: quia non credit in nomine unigeniti Filii Dei.

He that believeth in him is not judged. But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

For the man who believes in him, there is no rejection; the man who does not believe is already rejected; he has not found faith in the name of God’s only-begotten Son.

Hoc est autem judicium: quia lux venit in mundum, et dilexerunt homines magis tenebras quam lucem: erant enim eorum mala opera.

And this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil.

Rejection lies in this, that when the light came into the world men preferred darkness to light; preferred it, because their doings were evil.

Omnis enim qui male agit, odit lucem, et non venit ad lucem, ut non arguantur opera ejus:

For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.

Anyone who acts shamefully hates the light, will not come into the light, for fear that his doings will be found out.

qui autem facit veritatem, venit ad lucem, ut manifestentur opera ejus, quia in Deo sunt facta.

But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.

Whereas the man whose life is true comes to the light, so that his deeds may be seen for what they are, deeds done in God.

Post hæc venit Jesus et discipuli ejus in terram Judæam: et illic demorabatur cum eis, et baptizabat.

After these things Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea: and there he abode with them, and baptized.

After this, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judaea, and there he remained with them, baptizing.

Erat autem et Joannes baptizans, in Ænnon, juxta Salim: quia aquæ multæ erant illic, et veniebant et baptizabantur.

And John also was baptizing in Ennon near Salim; because there was much water there; and they came and were baptized.

John was still baptizing, too, in Aenon, near Salim, where there was abundance of water; men went to him there to be baptized.

Nondum enim missus fuerat Joannes in carcerem.

For John was not yet cast into prison.

(It was only later that John was thrown into prison.)

Facta est autem quæstio ex discipulis Joannis cum Judæis de purificatione.

And there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews concerning purification:

John’s disciples had had a dispute with the Jews, about purification,

Et venerunt ad Joannem, et dixerunt ei: Rabbi, qui erat tecum trans Jordanem, cui tu testimonium perhibuisti, ecce hic baptizat, et omnes veniunt ad eum.

And they came to John, and said to him: Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou gavest testimony, behold he baptizeth, and all men come to him.

and now they came to John, and told him, Master, there was one with thee on the other side of Jordan, to whom thou didst then bear testimony. We find that he is baptizing now, and all are flocking to him.

Respondit Joannes, et dixit: Non potest homo accipere quidquam, nisi fuerit ei datum de cælo.

John answered and said: A man cannot receive any thing, unless it be given him from heaven.

John answered, A man must be content to receive the gift which is given him from heaven, and nothing more.

Ipsi vos mihi testimonium perhibetis, quod dixerim: Non sum ego Christus: sed quia missus sum ante illum.

You yourselves do bear me witness, that I said, that I am not Christ, but that I am sent before him.

You yourselves are my witnesses that I told you, I am not the Christ; I have been sent to go before him.

Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est: amicus autem sponsi, qui stat, et audit eum, gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi. Hoc ergo gaudium meum impletum est.

He that hath the bride, is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled.

The bride is for the bridegroom; but the bridegroom’s friend, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices too, rejoices at hearing the bridegroom’s voice; and this joy is mine now in full measure.

Illum oportet crescere, me autem minui.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

He must become more and more, I must become less and less.

Qui desursum venit, super omnes est. Qui est de terra, de terra est, et de terra loquitur. Qui de cælo venit, super omnes est.

He that cometh from above, is above all. He that is of the earth, of the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh. He that cometh from heaven, is above all.

He who comes from above is above all men’s reach; the man who belongs to earth talks the language of earth, but one who comes from heaven must needs be beyond the reach of all;

Et quod vidit, et audivit, hoc testatur: et testimonium ejus nemo accipit.

And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth: and no man receiveth his testimony.

he bears witness of things he has seen and heard, and nobody accepts his witness.

Qui accepit ejus testimonium signavit, quia Deus verax est.

He that hath received his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true.

The man who does accept his witness has declared, once for all, that God cannot lie,

Quem enim misit Deus, verba Dei loquitur: non enim ad mensuram dat Deus spiritum.

For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God: for God doth not give the Spirit by measure.

since the words spoken by him whom God has sent are God’s own words; so boundless is the gift God makes of his Spirit.

Pater diligit Filium et omnia dedit in manu ejus.

The Father loveth the Son: and he hath given all things into his hand.

The Father loves his Son, and so has given everything into his hands;

Qui credit in Filium, habet vitam æternam; qui autem incredulus est Filio, non videbit vitam, sed ira Dei manet super eum.

He that believeth in the Son, hath life everlasting; but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

and he who believes in the Son possesses eternal life, whereas he who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life; God’s displeasure hangs over him continually.