Once again the technique of misunderstanding on the part of one to whom Jesus is speaking serves as a means of transition in the dialogue.

The question posed by Nicodemus How can this be? must refer not to all that Jesus says in verses 5-8 or even to all of verse 8, but to the final statement concerning the way in which one is born of the Spirit. In English, the demonstrative pronoun this does not specify how much of the preceding statement is questioned. In some languages it is important to indicate precisely what is involved, and therefore it may be necessary to indicate that it is “this last statement” which Nicodemus finds so difficult to understand.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .