King James Version

John 3:9

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

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Greek

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ἀπεκρίθηapekrithēansweredἀποκρίνομαι (apokrinomai)verb, aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular — “answered”, a single actionG611I answer, reply, take up the conversation.answeredΝικόδημοςnikodēmosNicodemusΝικόδημοςnoun, nominative, singular, masculine — “Nicodemus”, the subject formG3530Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin.καὶkaiandκαίconjunction — “and”G2532and, even, also, namely.This verse uses “and”.andεἶπενeipento sayλέγω (légō)Greek uses a different stem for this verb’s past forms.verb, aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular — “to say”, a single actionG3004(denoting speech in progress), (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.This verse uses “say”.Strong’s files this form under G2036 (ἔπω, speak/say).saidαὐτῷautōunto himαὐτός (autos)personal pronoun, dative, singular, masculine — “unto him”, the to- or for-formG846he, she, it, they, them, same.unto himΠῶςpōsHowπῶςadverb — “How”G4459how, in what manner, by what means.This verse uses “how”.Howδύναταιdunataicanδύναμαι (dunamai)verb, present middle indicative, 3rd person singular — “can”, an ongoing or repeated actionG1410(a) I am powerful, have (the) power, (b) I am able, I can.canταῦταtautathese thingsοὗτος (houtos)demonstrative pronoun, nominative, plural, neuter — “these things”, the subject formG3778this; he, she, it.these thingsγενέσθαιgenesthaito beγίνομαι (ginomai)verb, aorist middle infinitive — “to be”, a single actionG1096I come into being, am born, become, come about, happen.be

Literal (Young’s Literal Translation)

Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'How are these things able to happen?'

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

Young’s Literal Translation

Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'How are these things able to happen?'

World English Bible

Nicodemus answered him, “How can these things be?”

Darby Translation

Nicodemus answered and said to him, How can these things be?

Douay-Rheims

Nicodemus answered, and said to him: How can these things be done?

American Standard Version (1901)

Young’s Literal Translation

World English Bible

Darby Translation

Douay-Rheims

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