John 3:16

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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".

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

— John 3:16

Biblical context

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 (sanhedrin), comes to talk with Jesus, whom he calls Rabbi. Jesus' miracles have convinced Nicodemus that Jesus is sent from God. In reply, Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."(John 3:5-6) John 3:16 builds upon Jesus' lesson to Nicodemus: that belief in Jesus is necessary for eternal life.

Translations

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

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

This can 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 renders it as follows. (It is worth noting that since this is perhaps the best-known verse, many translations have tried to maintain a traditional rendering.)

(See also Modern English Bible translations.)

Sense and syntax

Recent translation scholarship has struggled most with the Greek adverb οὕτως (houtos) 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 3:14-17MAIN 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 incorporated into the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the 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.

Computer scientist Donald Knuth is the author of 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated, in which he examines the Bible by an analysis of chapter 3, verse 16 of each book. Each verse is accompanied by a rendering in calligraphic art, contributed by a group of calligraphers under the leadership of Hermann Zapf. 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, centered on his process of production of his book.

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

References in popular culture

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.Some people (such as the Rainbow Man) display the reference in large letters 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.The Heisman-winning American football player Tim Tebow printed this reference (among other Bible verses) on his eye black, notably during the 2009 BCS championship. Exactly three years later on January 8, 2012, was the game that would become known as "The 3:16 game", where Tebow threw for 316 yards in a playoff upset against the Pittsburgh Steelers; a game in which measurements of 3, 16 and 31.6 were also noted, "John 3 16" became the top Google search in the US.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 is Stone Cold Steve Austin whose rise to fame was marked by his catchphrase "Austin 3:16".Video installation artist Paul Pfeiffer 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" has been used as a song title by various artists, including Wyclef Jean and DJ Muggs on Soul Assassins, Method Man on The Problem, and KatieJane Garside on The Ventriloquist.
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