“For God so loved the world”
KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
WORDS OF JESUS IN RED
This is the most popular verse in the Bible based on Google searches. It succinctly describes the Gospel message as Jesus told it to Nicodemus in this verse.
To get what John 3:16 means in detail, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Greek Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Greek | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Greek word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Greek word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “For” | γὰρ | Properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensification; often with other particles) | For |
| “God” | θεὸς | A deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; exceedingly (by Hebraism) | God |
| “so” | Οὕτως | In this way (referring to what precedes or follows) | so |
| “loved” | ἠγάπησεν | To love (in a social or moral sense) | loved |
| “the” | τὸν | The (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom) | the |
| “world,” | κόσμον | Orderly arrangement, i.e., decoration; by implication, the world (including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively (morally)) | world |
| “that” | ὥστε | So too, i.e., thus therefore (in various relations of consecution, as follow) | that |
| “he gave” | ἔδωκεν | To give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly modified by the connection) | gave |
| “his” | αὐτοῦ | The reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons | his |
| “only” | μονογενῆ | Only-born, i.e., sole | only |
| “begotten” | μονογενῆ | Only-born, i.e., sole | begotten |
| “Son,” | υἱὸν | A "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship | Son |
| “that” | ἵνα | In order that (denoting the purpose or the result) | that |
| “whosoever” | πᾶς | All, any, every, the whole | whosoever |
| “believeth” | πιστεύων | To have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e., credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ) | believeth |
| “in” | εἰς | To or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases | in |
| “him” | αὐτὸν | The reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons | him |
| “should” | ἀπόληται | To destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively | should |
| “not” | μὴ | (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas G3756 expects an affirmative one)) whether | not |
| “perish,” | ἀπόληται | To destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively | perish |
| “but” | ἀλλ' | Properly, other things, i.e., (adverbially) contrariwise (in many relations) | but |
| “have” | ἔχῃ | To hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possession; ability, contiuity, relation, or condition) | have |
| “everlasting” | αἰώνιον | Perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well) | everlasting |
| “life.” | ζωὴν | Life (literally or figuratively) | life |
See John 3:16 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
• The broader context of John 3:16 and use of feminine birth imagery
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.