John 3:16

John 3:16 (chapter 3, verse 16 of the Gospel of John) is one of the most widely quoted verses from the Christian Bible, and has been called the most famous Bible verse. It has also been called the "Gospel in a nutshell" because it is considered a summary of the central dogma of traditional Christianity:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

— John 3:16 (New International Version)

Biblical context

Statue of Nicodemus by Giovanni Angelo Del Maino

The verse occurs in a narrative in the New Testament third chapter of John taking place in Jerusalem. Nicodemus, a member of the ruling council, comes to talk with Jesus, whom he calls Rabbi. Jesus' miracles have convinced Nicodemus that Jesus is sent from God. In reply, Jesus declares, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (verses 5–6). John 3:16 summarizes Jesus' lesson to Nicodemus: that belief in Jesus is the only path to eternal life.

Translations

The verse in the original Greek is as follows (associated Strong's Number in superscript):

Οὕτως³⁷⁷⁹ γὰρ¹⁰⁶³ ἠγάπησεν²⁵ ὁ³⁵⁸⁸ Θεὸς²³¹⁶ τὸν³⁵⁸⁸ κόσμον²⁸⁸⁹, ὥστε⁵⁶²⁰ τὸν³⁵⁸⁸ Υἱὸν ⁵²⁰⁷ τὸν³⁵⁸⁸ μονογενῆ³⁴³⁹ ἔδωκεν¹³²⁵, ἵνα²⁴⁴³ πᾶς³⁹⁵⁶ ὁ³⁵⁸⁸ πιστεύων⁴¹⁰⁰ εἰς¹⁵¹⁹ Αὐτὸν⁸⁴⁶ μὴ³³⁶¹ ἀπόληται⁶²² ἀλλ᾽²³⁵ ἔχῃ²¹⁹² ζωὴν²²²² αἰώνιον¹⁶⁶

This could be translated literally as:

For in this way God loved the world: that he gave the unique son, so that all the ones trusting in him would not perish, but have eternal life.

A representative sample of published Bible translations render it as follows. (It is worth noting that since this is perhaps the most well-known verse, many translations have tried to maintain a traditional rendering.)

Century & distinctive features	Translation	John 3:16
C1 Greek	Original Koine Greek	Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν Υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς Αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ᾽ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
C4 Latin	Vulgate	Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret: ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam.
C14 Middle English	Wyclif's Bible	For God louede so the world that he yaf his oon bigetun sone, that ech man that beliueth in him perische not, but haue euerlastynge lijf.
C16 Protestant	Tyndale Bible	For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only son, that none that believe in him, should perish: but should have everlasting life.
C16 Roman Catholic	Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner Revision	For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.
C17, replaced Latin as a long-lasting standard	Authorized King James Version	For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
C19, forerunner of modern translations	Revised Version	For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
C20, formal equivalence	New American Standard Bible	For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
C20, dynamic equivalence	Good News Bible	For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.
C20, in-between approach, best-seller	New International Version	For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
C20, literal translation	Recovery Version of the Bible	For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.
C21, formal equivalence	English Standard Version (unchanged from RSV)	For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
C21, dynamic equivalence	New World Translation of The Holy Scriptures	For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.
C21, paraphrase	The Message	This is how much God loved the world: he gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
C21, "optimal equivalence"	HCSB	For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life.
C21, formal and functional equivalence[1]	NET Bible	For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
C21, formal equivalence	Apostolic Bible Polyglot	For thus God loved the world, so that [son his only born he gave], that every one trusting in him, should not perish, but should have [life eternal].

(See also Modern English Bible translations.)

Sense and syntax

Recent translation scholarship has struggled most with the Greek adverb οὕτως (Joutws) which traditionally has been simply translated as "so" as in "so loved" in the KJV.

Theologians Gundry and Howell believe that the sense and syntax of the Greek Οὕτως…ὥστε make it likely that the author of the Gospel of John is emphasizing both (a) the degree to which God loved the world as well as (b) the manner in which God chose to express that love—by sending his only son. Gundry and Howell write that the Οὕτως term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως). However, they add that the ὥστε clause that follows Οὕτως involves the indicative—meaning that it stresses an actual but usually unexpected result. They conclude that the sense and syntax of the Greek construction here focuses on the nature of God's love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent. Accordingly, it emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given.

There are other scholars agreeing with this assessment. "The 'so' (houtos) is an adverb of degree which points toward the clause which follows and here serves to express the idea of infinity, a love that is limitless, that is fully adequate." "The Greek construction…emphasizes the intensity of the love."

This understanding of the intent in the original Greek is reflected in various scholarly commentaries and translations such as these:

• "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son" (Schnackenburg).

• "Yes, God loved the world so much that He gave the only Son" (Brown).

• "God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son" (NEB).

• "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son" (CEV).

• "For God loved the world so greatly that he gave the only Son" (Beasley-Murray).

Based on their analysis of the original Greek parallelistic structure of John 3:14-17, Gundry and Howell provide the following English translation showing the grammatical structure of that passage:

PARALLELISTIC STRUCTURE OF JOHN 3:14-17
MAIN CLAUSES (UNINDENTED)
SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (INDENTED)

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

in this way must the Son of man be lifted up

in order that everyone believing might have in him life eternal,

for in this way God loved the world;

and so God gave the only Son

in order that everyone believing in him might not perish; rather, might have life eternal,

for God did not send the Son into the world

in order that he might judge the world;

rather, in order that the world might be saved through him.

Other information

Translations of this verse into various languages are a familiar part of the front matter of Gideon Bibles.

The text of the verse is also incorporated into the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, eloquent fourth century archbishop of Constantinople, as part of a prayer said by the celebrant. This Divine Liturgy is still commonly used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and in the Byzantine rite of the Roman Catholic Church.

The various translations differ on whether this is a direct quote of Jesus or a comment of the narrator of the Gospel.

The computer scientist Donald Knuth produced an illustrated re-translation of Chapter 3, verse 16 of every book in the Bible. 3:16 was chosen because of this key passage in John. Knuth's Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About reproduces a lecture series that he gave at MIT, centred on his process of production of his book on 3:16.

David Pawson challenged the meaning and interpretation of the verse in his 2007 book Is John 3:16 the Gospel?

References in popular culture

John 3:16 printed on the bottom rim of an In-N-Out Burger paper cup.

• The phrase "John 3:16" is very short and can be written inconspicuously in out-of-the-way locations. In the U.S., the In-N-Out Burger chain prints it on the inside of the bottom rim of their paper cups, clothing chain Forever 21 and Heritage (1981) print it on the bottom of their shopping bags, and Tornado Fuel Saver prints it on the box.
• The citation can also be printed in large letters on small signs. Some people (such as the Rainbow Man) display the reference at sporting events, seeking the attention of fellow fans, the staff controlling the venue's giant video screens, and if the game is televised, the television audience.
• Florida Gators' 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow had this printed on his eye black during the 2009 BCS championship.
• Various real and fictional characters have parodied the phrase by substituting their own name for "John", or pretending that the verse says something else. A prominent example includes Stone Cold Steve Austin who rose to fame following his version, "Austin 3:16".
• Video artist Paul Pfeiffer, who specializes in video installation works, created a piece called "John 3:16" in which he digitally edited footage from a basketball game so that the ball always stays the same size in the center of the frame.
• "John 3:16" is the title of various songs, including Wyclef Jean and DJ Muggs on Muggs' Soul Assassins album; Method Man on album Preemptive Hype Vol 6; and Katiejane Garside on The Ventriloquist.

See also

• Perfect contrition
• Conversion to Christianity
• Monogenes
• O Monogenes Yios
• Modern English Bible translations

External links

• John 3:16 in Pop Culture, Time magazine photo essay (2009)