John 3 · Verse 15

John 3:15

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:15, King James Version

John 3:15 in other translations

BSBthat everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
WEBthat whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
ASVthat whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.
YLTthat every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,
DARBYthat every one who believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal.
BBESo that whoever has faith may have in him eternal life.
WebsterThat whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

What does John 3:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 3:14-16

14-16. And as Moses, &c.--Here now we have the "heavenly things," as before the "earthly," but under a veil, for the reason mentioned in Joh 3:12. The crucifixion of Messiah is twice after this veiled under the same lively term--"uplifting," Joh 8:28; 12:32, 33. Here it is still further veiled--though to us who know what it means, rendered vastly more instructive--by reference to the brazen serpent. The venom of the…

Read the full comment on John 3:14-16 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 15. That whosoever. This shows the fulness and freeness of the gospel. All may come and be saved.

Believeth in him. Whosoever puts confidence in him as able and willing to save. All who feel that they are sinners, that they have no righteousness of their own, and are willing to look to him as their only Saviour.

Should not perish. They are in danger, by nature, of perishing--that is, of sinking down to the pains of hell; of "being punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power," 2Thes 1:9. All who believe on Jesus shall be saved from this condemnation and be raised up to eternal life. And from this we learn,

1st. That there is salvation in no other.

2nd. That salvation is here full and free for all who will come.

3rd. That it is easy. What was more easy for a poor, wounded, dying Israelite, bitten by a poisonous serpent, than to look up to a brazen serpent? So with the poor, lost, dying sinner. And what more foolish than for such a wounded, dying man to refuse to look on a remedy so easy and effectual? So nothing is more foolish than for a lost and dying sinner to refuse to look on God's only Son, exalted on a cross to die for the sins of men, and able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him.

(m) "That whosoever" Jn 3:36, Heb 7:25

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 That whosoever believeth - Bp. Pearce supposes that this verse is only the conclusion of the 16th, and that it has been inserted in this place by mistake. The words contain the reason of the subject in the following verse, and seem to break in upon our Lord's argument before he had fully stated it. The words, μη αποληται αλλα, may not perish but, are omitted by some very ancient MSS. and versions.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

John 3:15 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἵναinaso thatG2443
πᾶςpaseveryoneG3956
ὁhowhoG3588
πιστεύωνpisteuōnis believingG4100
ἐνeninG1722
αὐτῷautōHimG846
μὴmēnotG3361
ἀπόληταιapolētaimay perishG622
ἀλλ᾽all᾽butG235
ἔχῃechēmay haveG2192
ζωὴνzōēnlifeG2222
αἰώνιον.aiōnioneternal.G166

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 3:15

  • John 3:16

    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.

  • John 6:40

    And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

  • 1 John 5:11-13

    And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

  • John 3:36

    He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

  • John 12:44-46

    Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

  • 1 John 5:1

    Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

  • Romans 10:9-14

    That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. …

  • 1 John 5:20

    And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

  • John 20:31

    But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

  • Hebrews 7:25

    Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

  • John 10:28-30

    And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.

  • Isaiah 45:22

    Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
whosoever.
16,36; 1:12; 6:40,47; 11:25,26; 12:44-46; 20:31; Isa 45:22; Mr 16:16
Ac 8:37; 16:30,31; Ro 5:1,2; 10:9-14; Ga 2:16,20; Heb 7:25; 10:39
1Jo 5:1,11-13
not.
5:24; 10:28-30; Mt 18:11; Lu 19:10; Ac 13:41; 1Co 1:18; 2Co 4:3
eternal.
17:2,3; Ro 5:21; 6:22,23; 1Jo 2:25; 5:13,20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 3:14

    And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

  • John 3:15

    That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

  • John 3:16

    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.

Read all of John 3

John 3:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Para que todo aquel que en él creyere, no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		afin que quiconque croit en lui ne périsse pas, mais qu’il ait la vie éternelle.
German
Elberfelder 1871		auf daß jeder, der an ihn glaubt, nicht verloren gehe, sondern ewiges Leben habe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		ut omnis qui credit in ipsum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam.