Mazmur 103:3-4

103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,

who heals all your diseases, ¹ 

103:4 who delivers ²  your life from the Pit, ³ 

who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,

Matius 1:21

1:21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him ⁴  Jesus, ⁵  because he will save his people from their sins.”

Roma 6:14

6:14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ⁶  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ⁷  who are eager to do good. ⁸ 

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ⁹  sound teaching.

Yohanes 3:5-8

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁰  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ¹¹  he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, ¹²  and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3:7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all ¹³  be born from above.’ ¹⁴  3:8 The wind ¹⁵  blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ¹⁶ 

[103:3]  ¹ tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).

[103:4]  ² tn Or “redeems.”

[103:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24.

[1:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

[1:21]  ⁵ sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “for good works.”

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).

[3:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[3:5]  sn Jesus’ somewhat enigmatic statement points to the necessity of being born “from above,” because water and wind/spirit/Spirit come from above. Isaiah 44:3-5 and Ezek 37:9-10 are pertinent examples of water and wind as life-giving symbols of the Spirit of God in his work among people. Both occur in contexts that deal with the future restoration of Israel as a nation prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It is therefore particularly appropriate that Jesus should introduce them in a conversation about entering the kingdom of God. Note that the Greek word πνεύματος is anarthrous (has no article) in v. 5. This does not mean that spirit in the verse should be read as a direct reference to the Holy Spirit, but that both water and wind are figures (based on passages in the OT, which Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel should have known) that represent the regenerating work of the Spirit in the lives of men and women.

[3:6]  ¹² sn What is born of the flesh is flesh, i.e., what is born of physical heritage is physical. (It is interesting to compare this terminology with that of the dialogue in John 4, especially 4:23, 24.) For John the “flesh” (σάρξ, sarx) emphasizes merely the weakness and mortality of the creature – a neutral term, not necessarily sinful as in Paul. This is confirmed by the reference in John 1:14 to the Logos becoming “flesh.” The author avoids associating sinfulness with the incarnate Christ.

[3:7]  ¹³ tn “All” has been supplied to indicate the plural pronoun in the Greek text.

[3:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “born again.” The same Greek word with the same double meaning occurs in v. 3.

[3:8]  ¹⁵ tn The same Greek word, πνεύματος (pneumatos), may be translated “wind” or “spirit.”

[3:8]  ¹⁶ sn Again, the physical illustrates the spiritual, although the force is heightened by the word-play here on wind-spirit (see the note on wind at the beginning of this verse). By the end of the verse, however, the final usage of πνεύματος (pneumatos) refers to the Holy Spirit.