If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Parallel translations
- WEB If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
- BSB If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
- NKJV If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
- NASB If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
- NLT But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If Nicodemus cannot believe earthly illustrations, how will he believe heavenly realities? Jesus signals the deeper revelation about to come.
Overview
'Earthly things' likely refers to the new birth illustrated by wind and water; 'heavenly things' to the eternal mysteries of the Son's mission, death, and the Father's love. Jesus exposes the obstacle of unbelief that blocks reception of revelation. The verse builds toward the gospel heart of the passage in verses 14-16.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Cor 3:1–2And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
- 1 Cor 2:7–9But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
- John 3:31–36He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
- Heb 5:11Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
- 1 Pet 2:1–3Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
- John 3:13–17And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
- John 3:5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
- John 1:1–14In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- John 3:8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
- 1 Jn 4:10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
- John 3:3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
- 1 Tim 3:16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 3:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.