Nicodemus said 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?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Nicodemus said 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?”
- KJV Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
- BSB “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?”
- NASB Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”
- NLT “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
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
Nicodemus takes Jesus literally, asking how a grown man could re-enter his mother's womb. His confusion highlights that spiritual rebirth cannot be grasped by natural reasoning alone.
Overview
Nicodemus's misunderstanding is typical of John's Gospel, where literal-minded questions set up deeper spiritual teaching. His bewilderment shows that the new birth is not a physical or self-generated event but something only God can accomplish. The dialogue exposes how even the learned need divine illumination to understand the things of the Spirit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Cor 2:14Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- 1 Cor 1:18For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
- John 4:11–12The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. So where do you get that living water?
- John 3:3Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”
- John 6:53Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves.
- John 6:60Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”
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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 3:4 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.