YHN 3:13 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=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) None of you have ever gone up into heaven, but I, humanity’s child, have come down from heaven.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 And no one has ascended into heaven except the one having descended from heaven—the Son of Man.

UST I, the Son of Man, am the only one who has gone up to heaven, and I am the only one who has come down to earth from heaven.

BSB No one has ascended into heaven except the [One who] descended from heaven—the Son of Man.[fn]

MSB No one has ascended into heaven except the [One who] descended from heaven—the Son of Man, who is in heaven.[fn]

BLB And no one has gone up into heaven except the One having come down out of heaven, the Son of Man.

AICNT And no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man [[who is in heaven]].[fn]

3:13, who is in heaven: Some manuscripts include. A(02) Latin(a b e ff² ) BYZ TR

OEB No one has ascended to heaven, except him who descended from heaven – the Son of Man himself.

LSB And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

WEBBE No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(13-15)“No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

NET No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven – the Son of Man.

LSV And no one has gone up to Heaven, except He who came down out of Heaven—the Son of Man who is in Heaven.

FBV No one has gone up to heaven, but the Son of man came down from heaven.

TCNT No one has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven, the Son of [fn]Man, who is in heaven.

3:13 Man, who is in heaven. 97.6% ¦ Man. CT 1.1%

T4T I am the only one who has gone up to heaven; no one else has gone up there. I am also the one who came down from heaven. So I know what happens there.

LEB And no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.

BBE And no one has ever gone up to heaven but he who came down from heaven, the Son of man.

Moff And yet the Son of man, descended from heaven, is the only one who has ever ascended into heaven.

Wymth There is no one who has gone up to Heaven, but there is One who has come down from Heaven, namely the Son of Man whose home is in Heaven.

ASV And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.

DRA And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.

YLT and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down — the Son of Man who is in the heaven.

Drby And no one has gone up into heaven, save he who came down out of heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.

RV And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.
(And no man hath/has ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven. )

SLT And none has ascended to heaven, except he having descended from heaven, the Son of man, he being in heaven.

Wbstr And no man hath ascended to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven.

KJB-1769 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
( And no man hath/has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. )

KJB-1611 And no man hath ascended vp to heauen, but hee that came downe from heauen, euen the Sonne of man which is in heauen.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And no man ascendeth vp to heauen, but he that came downe from heauen, euen the sonne of man which is in heauen.
(And no man ascendeth up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man which is in heaven.)

Gnva For no man ascendeth vp to heauen, but he that hath descended from heauen, that Sonne of man which is in heauen.
(For no man ascendeth up to heaven, but he that hath/has descended from heaven, that Son of man which is in heaven. )

Cvdl And no man ascendeth vp in to heauen, but he that is come downe from heaue, (namely) the sonne of man which is in heauen.
(And no man ascendeth up in to heaven, but he that is come down from heaven, (namely) the son of man which is in heaven.)

TNT And no man ascendeth vp to heaven but he that came doune from heaven that is to saye the sonne of man which is in heaven.
(And no man ascendeth up to heaven but he that came down from heaven that is to say the son of man which is in heaven. )

Wycl And no man stieth in to heuene, but he that cam doun fro heuene, mannys sone that is in heuene.
(And no man stieth in to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, mannys son that is in heaven.)

Luth Und niemand fähret gen Himmel, denn der vom Himmel herniederkommen ist, nämlich des Menschen Sohn, der im Himmel ist.
(And no_one drives/rides/runs to/toward heaven, because/than the/of_the from_the heaven come_down is, namely the people son, the/of_the in_the heaven is.)

ClVg Et nemo ascendit in cælum, nisi qui descendit de cælo, Filius hominis, qui est in cælo.[fn]
(And nobody/no_one went_up in/into/on the_sky, except who/which came_down from/about the_sky, Son of_man, who/which it_is in/into/on the_sky. )

3.13 Nisi qui descendit. Hoc pertinet ad secundam nativitatem in spiritu, quia nemo in Christo ad Patrem ascendit, nisi qui ex spiritu nascitur. Nemo salvatur per mortem Christi, nisi qui ex spiritu nascitur. Nemo nascitur ex spiritu, nisi in morte Christi. Et cum dicit Filius hominis, dat nobis certitudinem ascendendi, cum filii hominum simus.

3.13 Unless who/which came_down. This belongs to second birth in/into/on in_spirit, because nobody/no_one in/into/on to_Christ/Messiah to Father went_up, except who/which from in_spirit is_born. Nobody savetur through death Christi, except who/which from in_spirit is_born. Nobody is_born from in_spirit, except in/into/on death Christi. And when/with he_says Son of_man, gives us certitudinem ascendendi, when/with children of_men we_are.

UGNT καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς— ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου.
(kai oudeis anabebaʸken eis ton ouranon, ei maʸ ho ek tou ouranou katabas— ho Huios tou Anthrōpou.)

SBL-GNT καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ⸀ἀνθρώπου.
(kai oudeis anabebaʸken eis ton ouranon ei maʸ ho ek tou ouranou katabas, ho huios tou ⸀anthrōpou.)

RP-GNT Καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ.
(Kai oudeis anabebaʸken eis ton ouranon, ei maʸ ho ek tou ouranou katabas, ho huios tou anthrōpou ho ōn en tōi ouranōi.)

TC-GNT Καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου [fn]ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ.
(Kai oudeis anabebaʸken eis ton ouranon, ei maʸ ho ek tou ouranou katabas, ho huios tou anthrōpou ho ōn en tōi ouranōi. )

3:13 ο ων εν τω ουρανω 97.6% ¦ — CT 1.1%

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words 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.

3:13a–b

No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man: This verse is a reference to Proverbs 30:4a, which reads “Who has ascended to heaven and come down?” The question in Proverbs is asking who has brought wisdom from God to earth. Here Jesus answered this question by saying that he himself had been in heaven and had come down from heaven. In that way he brought the knowledge of heavenly things to earth. See the notes on John 1:18. See also John 1:51, where the angels of God are said to “ascend” and “descend” on the Son of Man.

3:13a

No one has ascended into heaven

No one has gone up into heaven
Only one has been able to enter heaven,

No one has ascended into heaven: This clause is difficult to understand. It probably indicates that no one (but Jesus) had ever been in heaven and come down to earth. As such he was the only one who could truly tell what he had seen and knew of God. The word ascended means “went up.”

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

no one has ever gone up to heaven (GNT)

no one has ever gone to heaven and returned (NLT)

heaven: The word heaven here refers to the place where God lives.

3:13b

except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.

except the Son of Man who came from heaven.
the Son of Man, I who came down from heaven.

except the One…the Son of Man: Jesus was referring to himself.There is a textual issue in this verse. (1) Some Greek manuscripts have just the Son of Man. For example: the Son of Man (NIV) (BSB, NIV, RSV. NRSV, CEV, REB, GNT, NLT, GW, NCV, NJB) (2) Other Greek manuscripts have the Son of Man who is in/from heaven. For example: [even] the Son of man which is in heaven. (KJV) (KJV, REB) You should follow option (1) because it has the best manuscript support. Also, most English translations follow this option. In some languages it may be more natural to use a form like “I” or “me” to make that clear. For example:

I, the Son of Man, am the only one

I who became man/human

me, the Son of Man

the Son of Man: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the Son of Man is more literally “the Son of the human/person.” Jesus used this title to imply two things:

He was a true human being, and he represented all people
He came from God and had authority from God

Try to use an expression that implies both meanings. Here are some possible translations:

the Human-born

the Man from God/Heaven

the Representative of Mankind

Translators have also used expressions that are more literal. These more literal expressions may be suitable where readers are familiar with a literal expression in another translation.

See how you translated this term in 1:51.

See Son of Man in KBT.

General Comment on 3:13a–b

“No one…except” is a double negative with a positive emphasis. It indicates that Jesus, the Son of Man, is the only person to have been in heaven and come down to earth. In some languages it is more natural to translate with a positive statement. For example:

The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man. (NCV)