Yesaya 44:3

44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground ¹ 

and cause streams to flow ²  on the dry land.

I will pour my spirit on your offspring

and my blessing on your children.

Yoel 2:29

2:29 Even on male and female servants

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Yohanes 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ³  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ⁴  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

[44:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the thirsty.” Parallelism suggests that dry ground is in view (see “dry land” in the next line.)

[44:3]  ² tn Heb “and streams”; KJV “floods.” The verb “cause…to flow” is supplied in the second line for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

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

[3:5]  ⁴ 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.