John 3:16 God Loved
“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” (KJV).
Part of Matthew Henry’s Commentary on this beloved Scripture says, “Here is the great gospel duty, and that is to believe in Jesus Christ: Here is the great gospel benefit: That whosoever believes in Jesus Christ shall not perish. God has taken away their sin, they shall not die; a pardon is purchased. They are entitled to the joys of heaven: they shall have everlasting life.” Matthew Henry points out that we have a DUTY, believe in Jesus; then, and only then, do we get the BENEFIT, eternity in heaven with our God.
The King James Version of John 3:16 is the one I grew up with, and you probably did, also, so that is the basic translation used in this posting. The remaining part of the message is ten official translations of this beloved verse and one unofficial translation, but I think you will like it as I do. I realize that this is repetitive, but this Scripture is a straight-forward statement of God’s love for us. Please take the time to read them all. Perhaps one of them will enhance this Scripture’s meaning to your heart.
For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life”(1599 Geneva Bible).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever” (New Life Version).
“God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live for ever with God” (Easy English Bible).
“For God so greatly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life” (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition).
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (English Standard Version).
“For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life” (The Voice).
“…for God did so love the world, that His Son—the only begotten—He gave, that every one who is believing on him may not perish, but may have life age-during” (Young’s Literal Translation.
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life” (The Message).
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed” (Complete Jewish Bible).
“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die” (Contemporary English Version).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (English Standard Version).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever” (New Life Version).
“God get plenny love an aloha fo da peopo inside da world. Dass why he sen me, his one an ony Boy. Cuz a dat, erybody dat trus me no goin get cut off from God fovea! Dey goin get da real kine life dat goin stay to da max fovea! (Hawaiian according to Google). (You have to read this one out loud to really understand it.)
The point is this: God loves you. Do your gospel duty, and you will receive the gospel benefit. Please!