Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Nicodemus answered him, “How can these things be?”
- KJV Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
- BSB “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
- NASB Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
- NLT “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
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, still perplexed, asks how these things can be. His question shows the limits of human wisdom before the mystery of regeneration.
Overview
Despite his learning, Nicodemus cannot make sense of the new birth on his own terms. His honest bewilderment moves the dialogue from 'what' to 'how,' opening the way for Jesus to speak of his own heavenly origin and saving mission. It models that understanding spiritual truth requires revelation, not merely intellect.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 42:16I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.
- John 6:60Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”
- John 6:52The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
- Luke 1:34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
- John 3:4Nicodemus 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?”
- Prov 4:18But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light, that shines more and more until the perfect day.
- Mark 8:24–25He looked up, and said, “I see men; for I see them like trees walking.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:9 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.