to wonder · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person singular
not
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
that
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
I said
εἶπόνeipon
G2036
to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
unto thee
σοίsoí
G4671
to thee
Ye
ὑμᾶςhymâs
G5209
you (as the objective of a verb or preposition)
must
δεῖdei
G1163
also deon deh-on' · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
be born
γεννηθῆναιgennēthēnai
G1080
to procreate (properly · verb — aorist passive infinitive
again
ἄνωθεν.anōthen
G509
from above · adverb
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which i…
John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another…
Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which ar…
Matthew 13:33-35 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till t…
Colossians 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 3:1-21
We found, in the close of the foregoing chapter, that few were brought to Christ at Jerusalem; yet here was one, a considerable one. It is worth while to go a great way for the salvation though but of one soul. Observe,
I. Who this Nicodemus was. Not many mighty and noble are called; yet some are, and here was one. Not many of the rulers, or of the Pharisees; yet. 1. This was a man of the Pharisees, bred to learning, a scholar. Let it not be said that all Christ's followers are unlearned and ignorant men. The principles of the Pharisees, and the peculiarities of their sect, were directly contrary to the spirit of Christianity; yet there were some in whom even those high thoughts were cast do…
Marvel not, &c.--If a spiritual nature only can see and enter the kingdom of God; if all we bring into the world with us be the reverse of spiritual; and if this spirituality be solely of the Holy Ghost, no wonder a new birth is indispensable.
Ye must--"Ye, says Jesus, not we" [BENGEL]. After those universal propositions, about what "a man" must be, to "enter the kingdom of God" (Joh 3:5) --this is remarkable, showing that our Lord meant to hold Himself forth as "separate from sinners."
Adam Clarke on John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh - This is the answer to the objection made by Nicodemus in Joh 3:4. Can a man enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Our Lord here intimates that, were even this possible, it would not answer the end; for the plant will ever be of the nature of the seed that produces it - like will beget its like. The kingdom of God is spiritual and holy; and that which is born of the Spirit resembles the Spirit; for as he is who begat, so is he who is begotten of him. Therefore, the spiritual regeneration is essentially necessary, to prepare the soul for a holy and spiritual kingdom.
John Gill on John 3:7
Marvel not that I said unto thee,...., For Nicodemus was quite astonished, at this doctrine of the new birth; it was altogether new to him, and unheard of by him; nor could he understand, nor conceive in what manner it could be:
ye must be born again; in "four" of Beza's copies, it is read "we"; but as Christ was not begotten in a carnal way, or descended not from Adam in the ordinary way of generation, he was not carnal and corrupt, nor in the least tainted with sin; and so stood in no need of regeneration; wherefore such a reading must be rejected. There is a necessity of the regeneration of those, who are the chosen of God, and the redeemed of the Lamb; and of them only can the words be…
The Church Fathers
Christ then having said, "He that is born of the Spirit is spirit," when He saw him again confused, leads His discourse to an example from sense, saying, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth." For by saying, "Marvel not," He indicates the confusion of his soul, and leads him to something lighter than body. He had already led him away from fleshly things, by saying, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit"; but when Nicodemus knew not what "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" meant, He next carries him to another figure, not bringing him to the density of bodies, nor yet speaking of things purely incorporeal, (for had he heard he could not have received this,) but having found a something between what is and what is not body, namely, the motion of the wind, He brings him to that next.
For in Thy spiritual things I am dull, as Thy Only-begotten says, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born anew. The Spirit breathes where it will, and thou hearest the voice of it; but dost not know whence it comes or whither it goes. So is every one who is born of water and of the Holy Spirit." Though I hold a belief in my regeneration, I hold it in ignorance; I possess the reality, though I comprehend it not. For my own consciousness had no part in causing this new birth, which is manifest in its effects. Moreover the Spirit has no limits; He speaks when He will, and what He will, and where He will. Since, then, the cause of His coming and going is unknown, though the watcher is conscious of the fact, shall I count the nature of the Spirit among created things, and limit Him by fixing the time of His origin?
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Birth — As soon as a child was born it was washed, and rubbed with salt (Ezek. 16:4), and then swathed with bandages (Job 38:9; Luke 2:7, 12). A Hebrew mother remained forty days in seclusion after the birth…
Fall of man — An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their…
Nicodemus — The people is victor, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He is first noticed as visiting Jesus by night (John 3:1-21) for the purpose of learning more of his doctrines, which our Lord then…
Heart · .Regenerated — .Regenerated
Heredity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Life, Spiritual · Has its origin in the new-birth — Has its origin in the new-birth
Man · SPIRIT — SPIRIT
Nicodemus · A Jewish rabbi -Becomes a disciple of Jesus — A Jewish rabbi -Becomes a disciple of Jesus
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John 3:7-12
7. Wonder not that I said to thee, You must be born again. 8. The wind bloweth where it pleaseth, and thou hearest its voice; but knowest not whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9. Nicodemus answered, and said to him, How can these things be? 10. Jesus answered, and said to him, Thou art a teacher of Israel, and knowest you not these things? 11. Verily, verily, I say to thee, We speak what we know, and testify what we have seen; and you receive not our testimony. 12. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
7. Wonder not. This passage has been tortured by commenta…
