King James Version · Under Rome
John 3
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There was a man of the , named , a ruler of the : The same came to by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from : for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except be with him. answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be , he cannot see of . saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s , and be born? answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be and of , he cannot enter into of . That which is born of is ; and that which is is . Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be . 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 . answered and said unto him, How can these things be? answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our . If I have told you earthly things, and ye not, how shall ye , if I tell you of things? And no man hath ascended up to , but he that came down from , even which is in . And as lifted up in , even so must be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not , but have . For so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not , but have . For sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be . He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not in the name of the only begotten Son of . And this is the condemnation, that is come into the world, and men loved rather than , because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth , neither cometh to , lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to , that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in . After these things came and his into the land of ; and there he tarried with them, and . And also was in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were . For was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of ’s and the about purifying. And they came unto , and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest , behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from . Ye yourselves bear me , that I said, I am not , but that I am sent before him. He that hath the is the : but the friend of the , which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the ’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his . He that hath received his hath set to his seal that is true. For he whom hath sent speaketh the words of : for giveth not by measure unto him. loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but abideth on him.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.