YHN 3:10 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

UST Jesus answered him, “You are an important religious teacher among the people of Israel, so you should understand what I am saying!

BSB “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things?

BLB Jesus answered and said to him, "You are the teacher of Israel, and do you not know these things?

AICNT Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things?”

OEB ‘What! You a teacher of Israel,’ exclaimed Jesus, ‘and yet do not understand this!

LSB Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?

WEBBE Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?

WMBB Yeshua answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?

NET Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?

LSV Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not know these things?

FBV “You're a famous teacher in Israel,[fn] and yet you don't understand such things?” Jesus replied.

3:10 Literally, “you are the teacher of Israel.”

TCNT Jesus answered him, “Yoʋ are the teacher of Israel, and yoʋ do not understand these things?

T4T Jesus replied to him, “You (sg) are a well-known teacher among us Israelite people, so ◄I am surprised that you do not understand these things!/how is it that you do not understand these things?► [RHQ]

LEB Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things?

BBE And Jesus, answering, said, Are you the teacher of Israel and have no knowledge of these things?

Moff Jesus replied, "You do not understand this? — you, a teacher in Israel!

Wymth "Are you," replied Jesus, "`the Teacher of Israel,' and yet do you not understand these things?

ASV Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?

DRA Jesus answered, and said to him: Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?

YLT Jesus answered and said to him, 'Thou art the teacher of Israel — and these things thou dost not know!

Drby Jesus answered and said to him, Thou art the teacher of Israel and knowest not these things!

RV Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?
(Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou/you the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things? )

SLT Jesus answered and said to him, Art thou a teacher of Israel, and knowest not these?

Wbstr Jesus answered and said to him, Art thou a teacher of Israel, and knowest not these things?

KJB-1769 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
(Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou/you a master of Israel, and knowest/know not these things? )

KJB-1611 Iesus answered, and saide vnto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Iesus aunswered, & sayde vnto hym: Art thou a maister in Israel, and knowest not thesethynges?
(Yesus/Yeshua answered, and said unto him: Art thou/you a master in Israel, and knowest/know not thesethynges?)

Gnva Iesus answered, and saide vnto him, Art thou a teacher of Israel, and knowest not these things?
(Yesus/Yeshua answered, and said unto him, Art thou/you a teacher of Israel, and knowest/know not these things? )

Cvdl Iesus answered, & sayde vnto hi: Art thou a Master in Israel, & knowest not these?
(Yesus/Yeshua answered, and said unto him: Art thou/you a Master in Israel, and knowest/know not these?)

TNT Iesus answered and sayde vnto him: arte thou a master in Israel and knowest not these thinges?
(Yesus/Yeshua answered and said unto him: art thou/you a master in Israel and knowest/know not these things? )

Wycl Jhesus answeride, and seide to hym, Thou art a maister in Israel, and knowist not these thingis?
(Yhesus answered, and said to him, Thou/You art a master in Israel, and knowest/know not these things?)

Luth JEsus antwortete und sprach zu ihm: Bist du ein Meister in Israel und weißt das nicht?
(Yesus replied and spoke to/for him: Bist you(sg) a master in Israel and you_know the not?)

ClVg Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Tu es magister in Israël, et hæc ignoras?[fn]
(Respondit Yesus, and he/she_said to_him: You(sg) you_are teacher in/into/on Israel, and these_things ignoras? )

3.10 Tu es magister, etc. Non insultat ei, ut superior eo habeatur qui omnibus præest, sed quia vult eum nasci ex spiritu, quod nequit nisi humilis, tumidum ex magisterio humiliat. Quasi dicat: Superbus princeps, nil nosti, humiliare ut ille qui seipsum exinanivit, et natus est ex spiritu, scies quod modo nescis.

3.10 You(sg) you_are teacher, etc. Not/No insultat to_him, as superior by_him haveur who/which to_all beforeest, but because wants him to_be_born from in_spirit, that nequit except humble, tumidum from teaching humiliat. As_if let_him_say: Superbus prince, nil you_know, humiliare as he/that_one who/which himself exinanivit, and born it_is from in_spirit, you_will_know that just/only you_don't_know.

UGNT ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις?
(apekrithaʸ Yaʸsous kai eipen autōi, su ei ho didaskalos tou Israaʸl, kai tauta ou ginōskeis?)

SBL-GNT ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις;
(apekrithaʸ Yaʸsous kai eipen autōi; Su ei ho didaskalos tou Israaʸl kai tauta ou ginōskeis;)

RP-GNT Ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις;
(Apekrithaʸ Yaʸsous kai eipen autōi, Su ei ho didaskalos tou Israaʸl, kai tauta ou ginōskeis;)

TC-GNT Ἀπεκρίθη [fn]Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις;
(Apekrithaʸ Yaʸsous kai eipen autōi, Su ei ho didaskalos tou Israaʸl, kai tauta ou ginōskeis; )

3:10 ιησους ¦ ο ιησους TR

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–21: A Pharisee named Nicodemus questioned Jesus

This section tells about how a Pharisee called Nicodemus went to visit Jesus. Jesus told Nicodemus that all people need God to change them. Nicodemus could be sure that Jesus was speaking the truth because Jesus came from God.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Jesus told a Pharisee that he needed to change

Everyone must be born again

All people need God to give them a new birth/life

Paragraph 3:9–15

In this paragraph, in verse 10, Jesus began to talk about his authority. He claimed that he had the right to teach about God because he had come from God. In ancient Greek, quotation marks were not used, so it is not always easy to tell where a quotation ends. Different translations end Jesus’ speech at different points. Here are the possibilities:

Jesus’ own words end at the end of 3:21. (NASB, NRSV, ESV, NIV84, REB, NJB, NLT, NCV)
Jesus’ own words end at the end of 3:15. (RSV, NET, GW, NIV11)
Jesus’ own words end at the end of 3:13. (GNT)

It is not clear where the KJV and CEV end the quotation. It is recommended that you follow most English translations and end Jesus’ speech at the end of verse 21.

3:10a–b

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things?: The two clauses in 3:10a–b together form a rhetorical question that Jesus used as a rebuke. He was not asking whether Nicodemus was really a teacher. Nor was he asking whether Nicodemus understood his teaching.

He knew that Nicodemus was a teacher, and he knew that Nicodemus did not understand. He was saying that, because he was a teacher, Nicodemus should have understood. That was the rebuke. There are several ways to translate this rhetorical question:

Use a rhetorical question. For example:
How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? (CEV)
Use a statement of rebuke. For example:
As a teacher in Israel, you should understand these things.
Use an exclamation. For example:
You a teacher of Israel and yet you do not know about such things!

Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.

you: This pronoun refers to Nicodemus and is singular both times it is used.

3:10a

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus,

“You^(sing) are a respected teacher to Israel,” said Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “You^(sing) are a teacher of Israel

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus: Jesus was assuming and stating that Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel. This is the ground of the rebuke that follows. It may therefore be natural to say:

because you are a teacher of Israel

as a teacher of Israel

Israel’s teacher: The Greek noun phrase that the BSB translates as Israel’s teacher is more literally “the teacher of Israel.” This probably indicates that Nicodemus had influence as an important religious teacher of the people of Israel. He was a respected representative of the Jewish people, with authority to teach them the Torah. He was probably a member of the Sanhedrin. See the note on “a leader of the Jews” in 3:1b.

teacher: The Greek word that the BSB translates as teacher was a polite title for a Jewish religious leader. It was a title of respect for a man who had authority to teach things about God. Do not use a term that can refer only to a school teacher.

3:10b

“and you do not understand these things?

“How/Why do you^(sing) not understand these things?
and should know these things!

and you do not understand these things?: Jesus was rebuking Nicodemus for not understanding what he was talking about. The Hebrew Scriptures taught that God’s Spirit changed people and gave them new life. Nicodemus should have remembered that from passages such as Ezekiel 36:26–27 and Ezekiel 37:1–14.

these things: This phrase refers back to what Jesus had just talked about (3:3, 3:5–8). It refers to being born again, born of the Spirit. In some languages it is more natural to supply that idea here. For example:

How can you not understand what I mean when I talk about being born of the Spirit?

General Comment on 3:10a–b

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the comments in this verse. For example:

^10bYou^(sing) should understand these things ^10abecause you are a respected teacher of the people of Israel.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ Σύ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ καί ταῦτα οὒ γινώσκεις)

Jesus is using the question form for emphasis. He is not asking Nicodemus a question in order to get information. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [You are a teacher of Israel, so I am surprised you do not understand these things!] or [You are a teacher of Israel, so you should understand these things!]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / you

σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος & οὐ γινώσκεις

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ Σύ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ καί ταῦτα οὒ γινώσκεις)

The word you is singular and refers to Nicodemus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [Are you, Nicodemus, the teacher … you do not understand]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ

the teacher ¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ Σύ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ καί ταῦτα οὒ γινώσκεις)

Here, the teacher indicates that Nicodemus was recognized as a master teacher and religious authority in the land of Israel. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning explicitly. Alternate translation: [the renowned religious teacher in Israel]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ταῦτα

these_‹things›