John 1:13
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| John 1:13 | |
|---|---|
← 1:12 1:14 → | |
 John 1:1–16 in Papyrus 75 (AD 175–225) | |
| Book | Gospel of John |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
John 1:13 is the thirteenth verse in the first chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible.
In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort, this verse is:
- οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν.[1]
In the King James Version of the Bible, the text reads:
- Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.[2]
The New International Version translates the passage as:
- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.[3]
The Concordant Literal New Testament records the word "bloods" as a plural.[4]
Analysis
The opening word of this verse, οἳ (oi: "which", "who", or "they") continues from the previous verse. Protestant theologian Heinrich Meyer notes that it picks up the reference to "children of God" in verse 12, not the reference there to "those who believed", continuing
The conception "children of God" is more precisely defined as denoting those who came into existence not after the manner of natural human generation, but who were begotten of God. The negative statement exhibits them as those in whose coming into existence human generation (and consequently also Abrahamic descent) has no part whatever.[5]
According to Cornelius à Lapide, "John here gives an antithesis between human generation and Divine, and demonstrates the superiority of the latter. For he says that the former is of bloods (αἱμάτων, aimatōn), which is a Hebraism for blood, meaning the blood of man, produced by food." In terms of the phrase "of God", Lapide says that it refers to the Spirit and grace of God, "by which the mind of man, beforetime carnal, is regenerated and justified, and so a man becomes spiritual, just, and holy, a friend, yea, a son of God."[6]
