The 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
- BSB The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
- NKJV The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
- NASB The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
- NLT The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
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
Jesus compares the Spirit to the wind: real and effective, yet beyond our control or full comprehension. So is everyone born of the Spirit.
Overview
The same word means both 'wind' and 'Spirit' in Greek, making Jesus' analogy vivid. We perceive the wind's effects without mastering its source or direction, and likewise the Spirit's regenerating work is sovereign and mysterious yet evident in its fruit. The new birth is therefore God's free, sovereign act, not something humans manufacture or fully explain.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Eccl 11:4–5He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
- 1 Cor 2:11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
- Acts 2:2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
- Ezek 37:9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
- 1 Jn 2:29If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
- Mark 4:26–29And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
- Acts 4:31And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
- John 1:13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
- 1 Cor 12:11But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
- Job 37:21–23And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them.
- Job 37:16–17Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?
- Job 37:10–13By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
- Isa 55:9–13For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
- 1 Jn 3:8–9He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
- Ps 107:29He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
- Ps 107:25For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
- Luke 6:43–44For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
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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 3:8 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.