John 3:3 Except a man be born again,

Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night.

KJV

John 3:3 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

NIV

John 3:3 Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

LISTENERS HEARD

Amen, Amen, I tell you: when someone isn't born from above, he does not have the power himself to see the realm of the Divine.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The Greek word translated as "again" means "from on high" or "from the beginning." It is usually translated that way in the KJV, (John 19:11) except here and in a subsequent verse (John 3:7) referring back to this statement. The root of this word is ano, which means "on high." Its translation as "again" seems to come from Nicodemus's response to Jesus, but that may have mean that Nicodemus misunderstood what Jesus was saying or didn't believe it. As we shall see, later statements by Jesus in this dialogue clarify that he referring to himself coming down from heaven.

The common Greek term for "again" is a common word that means "anew." If Jesus wanted to say "again," is the Greek word used everywhere else in the Gospels he is how he would do so. Strangely, the two meanings of "from above" and "again" only work in Greek. If Jesus and Nicodemus were speaking Aramaic, as commonly claimed, this confusion could not occur. The translation of word meaning "on high" as "again" occurred originally in the Latin Vulgate version of the Gospels, but the Greek that the KJV translators worked from, which was translated back into Greek from the Latin, shows this word meaning "on high" not the common word meaning "again," so this change was intentional, likely driven by emerging dogma.

MY TAKE

Human consciousness must come from a higher conciousness.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)

John 3:3 Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.

WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "except" should be something more like "when."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "not want" is not shown in the English translation.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "man" is not the common word usually translated as "man."
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "again" should be something more like "from on high."
CW - Confusing Word -- The "very" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
CW --Confusing Word -- The "born" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "can" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "God" is not shown in the English translation.

CW - Confusing Word -- The "very" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
CW - Confusing Word -- The "can" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "God" is not shown in the English translation.
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "unless" should be something more like "when."
MW - Missing Word -- The word "not want" is not shown in the English translation.
WN - Wrong Number- The word "they" is translated as plural but the Greek word is singular.
CW --Confusing Word -- The "born" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "again" should be something more like "from on high."

EACH WORD of KJV

Verily, verily, -- The word translated as "verily" is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.

say -- The word translated as "say" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.

unto -- This word "unto" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English, but the translator must decide which preposition to use: a "to" as an indirect object.

thee, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is singular and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc.

Except -- (WW) "Except" is from the Greek word meaning "when" indicates more of an expectation of something happening than "if" alone. This is how we use the word "when."

missing "doesn't want" -- (MW) The untranslated negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" or "think" something, not that it isn't done or thought. With the verb "to be," the sense is "doesn't seem." When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. "When he doesn't want" does not mean "except."

a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.

man -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "man" in the singular means "anyone," "someone," "something," and "anything." In the plural, it means "some," "they," and "those."

be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

born - (CW) The Greek word translated a "born" has a primary meaning of being "begotten," but it means being created or produced generally. It is the same word used to give Christ's genealogy in Matthew. It is not the word for "born." Begetting and birthing, though related, are two different things.

again, - (WW) The Greek word translated as "again" means "from on high" or "from the beginning."

he -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

can- (CW) This word "can" has more the sense of having a specific ability or power rather than the kind of helping verb "can" is in English. Jesus always uses it in the verb and noun forms to refer to power. Christ is explaining his power of seeing what the Father does, which he says more directly in John 5:19.

not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly."

see - The Greek word translated as "see" means seeing in the sense of learning to understand, or, as translated in the alternative, as perceiving.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.

kingdom - The Greek word translated as "kingdom" also means "reign" or "dominion." It often seems that Christ uses it to refer to the rules or laws that God, as the ruler, lays down. A kingdom is where the rules made by a certain ruler are in effect.

of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.

missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.

God. - -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God," "the Divine" or "the divine one." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods.

EACH WORD of NIV

Very -- (CW) The word translated as "very" is from the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."

truly -- The word translated as "truly " is from the Hebrew repeated word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap." See this article discussing this "amen phrase."

I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the following verb.

tell -- The word translated as "say" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.

you, -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you," "for you," etc.

no -- The negative used here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" or "think" something, not that it isn't done or thought. With the verb "to be," the sense is "doesn't seem." When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. "When he doesn't want" does not mean "except."

one -- The Greek word translated as "one" in the singular means "anyone," "someone," "something," and "anything." In the plural, it means "some," "they," and "those."