Jesub tsî Nikodemub
1 Jodeǁîn di danaǂgaeǂgui-aob, Farisegu di ǀApemāǃnans di ǁanib, Nikodemub ti ǀon hâb ge ge hâ i. 2 ǁÎb ge tsuxuba Jesub tawa hā tsî ge mî: “ǁKhāǁkhā-aotse, Eloba xuts ge sidats nî ǁkhāǁkhāse hā ǃkhaisa da ge a ǂan. Khoe-i xare-i ge sats ra dī saode a dī ǁoa, Elob ga ǁî-i ǀkha hâ tama io.”
3 Ob ge Jesuba ge ǃeream bi: “Amase, amase ta ra mîba tsi, khoe-i ga ǁkhawa ǃnae tama io, o-i ge tātsē Elob Gaosiba mû ǁoa.”
4 Ob ge Nikodemuba ge dî bi: “Kaira hâ khoe-e mâti i ǁkhawa a ǃnae ǁkhā? Amase i kom ǁgûs ǃnāb ǃnâ ǂgâ-oa tsî ǁkhawa a ǃnae ǁoao?”
5 Ob ge Jesuba ge ǃeream: “Amase, amase ta ra mîba tsi, khoe-i ga ǁgam-i tsî Gagaba xu ǃnae tama io, o-i ge tātsē Elob Gaosib ǃnâ ǂgâ ǁoa. 6 ǁNā-i khoe-e xu ǃnae hâ-i ge a khoe, xawe Gagaba xu ǃnae hâ i ge a gaga. 7 Tā buru ‘ǁKhawa du nî ǃnae’ ti ta go mîba tsi ǃkhais xa. 8 ǂOab ge ǂgaob ra khami ra ǃgom tsîts ge ǀōb âba ra ǁnâu, xawets ge mâpa xub ra hā tamas ka io mâǀîb garu ǃkhaisa a ǀū. ǁNās ǁkhās khami i ge Gagaba xu ǃnae hâ-i hoa-i ǀkha ī.”
9 “Mâtis nēsa a īǁkhā?” tib ge Nikodemuba ge dî.
10 Ob ge Jesuba ge ǃeream bi: “Sats kom Israeli di ǂanǂansa ǁgauǃnâ-aotsao, mâtits nēna ǁnâuǃā tama hâ? 11 Amase, amase ta ge ra mîba tsi, xūn ǂan ge an tsî mû ge gen xa ge ge ra ǃkhō-am, xawe go ge sige ǃkhō-amsa ǃkhōǃoa tama hâ. 12 ǃHūbaib di xūn xa ta ga mîba du tsî du ga ǂgom tama io, mâti du ǁnâi ǀhomsi xūn xa ta ga mîba du, o nî ǂgom? 13 Khoen Ôab ge ǀhomma xu ǃhūbaib ǃoa ge hā tsî ǁkhawa ǀhommi ǃoa nî oa.” 14 Tsî Moseb ge ǀaoba haib ai ūkhâi hâ is ǁkhās khamib ge Khoen Ôab tsîna nî ǀgapiǀgapihe, 15 hoan tita ǃnâ ra ǂgomn nî ǀamo ûiba ūhâse. 16 “ǁNātikōseb ge Eloba ǃhūbaiba ge ǀnam tsîb ge ǁîb di ǀguise ǃnae hâ ǀGôaba ge mā, ǁîb ǃnâ ra ǂgomn hoan kāǁō tide, xawen nî ǀamo ûiba ūhâse. 17 ǁNā-amagab ge Eloba ǁîb Ôaba ǃhūbaibab nî ǀgoraǃgâse sî tama hâ, xawe ǃhūbaib nî ǁîb ǃnâ-u orehese.
18 “ǁÎb ǃnâ ga ǂgom-i ge ǀgoraǃgâhe tide. Xawe ǁîb ǃnâ ga ǂgom tama i-i ge ǀnai ǀgoraǃgâhe hâ, ǀguise ǃnae hâ ǀGôab Elob dib di ǀons ǃnâ-i ǂgom tama amaga. 19 Tsî ǁîn ǀgoraǃgâs ge nēsa: ǃNâb ge ǃhūbaib ai hā, xawen ge ǁîba ge ǂgao tama hâ i. Tsîn ge ǃkhaenaba ge ǀnam i, dīn gere xūn ge ǂkhaba i xui-ao. 20 ǁÎn ge ǃnâba ǁkhan hâ, ǁîn ǃkhaenab ǃnâ ǁoreba ra dī amaga. ǁÎn kom ǃnâba xu ra hâbēo, ǁoren ân nî ǂhai ǃkhaisan ra ǃao amaga. 21 Xawe ǁnān, amaba ra dīn ge ǃnâb ǃoa ra hā, î gu ǁîn di sîsengu Elob ǃnân ge dīga ǂhai.”
Jesub tsî Johaneb ǁĀǁnâ-aob
22 ǁNās khaoǃgâ gu ge Jesub tsî ǁîb ǁkhāǁkhāsabegu* tsîga Jerusalemsa xu ge ǂoa, xawe gu ge ǁaero-e Judeaǀkharib ǃnâ hâ tsî ǁnāpa gere ǁāǁnâ.
23 ǁNā ǁaeb ǃnâb ge Johaneb ǁĀǁnâ-aob tsîna Salims ǀgūse ǂnôa ǃās, Aenons tawa gere ǁāǁnâ, ǁnāpa i ge kai ǁgam-e hâ i tsîn gere khoena ǀû tamase ǁāǁnâ kaisen nîse sī xui-ao. 24 Nēs ge Johaneb ǃkhō-oms ǃnâ nî aoǂgāhes aiǃâ ge isa. 25 ǁNā ǁaeb ǃnâ i ge Jodeǁî-e Johaneb di ǁkhāǁkhāsabegu tawa ǀkhī tsî ǃanuǃanusens xa ǁîgu ǀkha ge ǂnoagutsoatsoa. 26 Johaneb di ǁkhāǁkhāsabegu ge ǁîb ǃoa hā tsî ge mî: “ǁKhāǁkhā-aotse, ǁnā khoeb Jordanǃāb di aiǂoasǀkhāb aits ge ǀhao-ūb, sats ge ǁîb xa ǃkhō-ammi tsîn ge khoena ra ǁāǁnâ, tsîn ge hoaraga khoena ǁîb tawa ra sī.”
27 Ob ge Johaneba ge ǃeream: “Khoe-i ge xū-i xare-e a ǃkhōǃoa ǁoa Elob ǀhommi ǃnâ hâba xu i ga māhe tama io. 28 Sago ǂûgo ge a ti ǀhûǀguitimî-ao, tita ge sago ǃoa ‘Tita Xristu* tama’ ti mî hâ i ǃkhaisa. Tita ge nēpa ǁîb daoba ta nî ǂhomise ǀgui ge sîhe. 29 ǃGame-aos ge ǃgame-aob hâpa nî sī. ǃGame-aob di horesab hîa mâ tsî ǁîba ra ǃgâb ge ǁîb dommab ra ǁnâu, o kaise ra ǃgâiaǂgao. ǁKhā ǀgaub aib ge ti ǃgâiaǂgaoba ra ǀoa. 30 ǁÎb ge ǃaruǀîǀgui nî kai tsî tita ge ǃaruǀîǀgui nî ǂkhari.
ǁNāb ǀhomma xu ra hāb
31 “ǁÎb ge ǀhomma xu ge ǁgôaxa tsî hoan ǃgâ-ai a kai. Tita ge a ǃhūbaib di tsî ǃhūbaib din xa ǀgui ra ǃhoa, xawe ǁîb ge ǀhomma xu ge hā tsî hoan ǂamai hâ. 32 ǁÎb ge mû tsîb ge ǁnâun xa ra ǃkhō-am, xawe i ge khoe-i xare-e ǃkhō-ams âba ǃkhōǃoa tama hâ. 33 ǁNān hîa ǃkhō-ams âba ra ǃkhōǃoan ge Elob a ama ǃkhaisa nî ǁapoǁapo. 34 Elob xa ge sîheb ge Elob mîde ra ǃhoa, Elob ra ǁîb Gagaba ǀoasase mā xui-ao. 35 ǁGûb ge ǀGôaba a ǀnam tsî ǁkhāsiba hoaraga xūn ǂamai ge mā bi. 36 Tsî hoan hîa Elob Ôab ǃnâ ra ǂgomn, ge ǀamo ûiba ūhâ. ǁNān hîa ǁîba ǁnâuǀnam taman ge tātsēs tsîna ǀamo ûiba tsâ tide, xaweb ge Elob di ǁaiba ǁîn ai nî hâhâ.”
Jesus and Nicodemus
1 There was a man named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a Jewish leader. 2 One night he went to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that God has sent you to teach us. You could not work these miracles, unless God were with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God's kingdom!”
4 Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”
5 Jesus answered:
I tell you for certain that before you can get into God's kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. 6 Humans give life to their children. Yet only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God. 7 Don't be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. 8 Only God's Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going.
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied:
How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? 11 I tell you for certain we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. 12 If you don't believe when I talk to you about things on earth, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about things in heaven?
13 No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. 14 And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as the metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. 15 Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.
16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! 18 No one who has faith in God's Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn't have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God's only Son.
19 The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light. 20 People who do evil hate the light and won't come to the light, because it clearly shows what they have done. 21 But everyone who lives by the truth will come to the light, because they want others to know that God is really the one doing what they do.
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 Later, Jesus and his disciples went to Judea, where he stayed with them for a while and was baptizing people.
23-24 John had not yet been put in jail. He was at Aenon near Salim, where there was a lot of water, and people were coming there for John to baptize them.
25 John's followers got into an argument with a Jewish man about a ceremony of washing. 26 They went to John and said, “Rabbi, you spoke about a man when you were with him east of the Jordan. He is now baptizing people, and everyone is going to him.”
27 John replied:
No one can do anything unless God in heaven allows it. 28 You surely remember how I told you that I am not the Messiah. I am only the one sent ahead of him.
29 At a wedding the groom is the one who gets married. The best man is glad just to be there and to hear the groom's voice. That's why I am so glad. 30 Jesus must become more important, while I become less important.
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31 God's Son comes from heaven and is above all others. Everyone who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all others. 32 He speaks about what he has seen and heard, and yet no one believes him. 33 But everyone who does believe him has shown that God is truthful. 34 The Son was sent to speak God's message, and he has been given the full power of God's Spirit.
35 The Father loves the Son and has given him everything. 36 Everyone who has faith in the Son has eternal life. But no one who rejects him will ever share in that life, and God will be angry with them forever.
