3:8a–d
The wind blows where it wishes…So it is with everyone born of the Spirit: This is a comparison. The action of the Holy Spirit is first described in a metaphor as The wind blowing. Then the metaphor is explained. Here are ways that the Spirit can be compared to The wind :
(a) Both come and go freely.
(b) No one knows where they will come from or where they will go.
(c) However, there is evidence that they are active and change or affect things or people.
Here are other ways to translate this comparison:
⌊Even though people cannot understand how someone is born again, it still happens.⌋ It is like the wind. We do not know where it comes from and where it goes, because it decides where it goes, but we hear it anyway. It’s the same with all who are born by the Holy Spirit.
-or-
The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit. (New Living Translation (2004))
In some languages you may want to reverse these parts of the verse. See the General Comment after 3:8d.
wind…Spirit: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wind here refers to the movement of air. In Greek (and Hebrew) the words for wind and Spirit /“spirit” are the same. So in the original Greek this comparison involved a play on words (using a word with more than one meaning). In most languages it will not be possible to translate this play on words. However, a footnote may help by saying that in Greek the words for wind and Spirit are the same.
3:8a
The wind blows where it wishes: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wishes is more literally “wants.” In some languages, people cannot say that the wind wants or chooses something. So it may be necessary to translate this clause a different way. For example:
The wind blows anywhere/freely.
-or-
No one tells the wind where to blow.
3:8b
You hear its sound: This is part of the metaphor or comparison. People hear the noise the wind makes when it blows, as it affects things in the world. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
you can hear the wind (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
You can hear its sound (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
you hear the sound it makes (NET Bible)
You: The singular pronoun You here is indefinite and does not refer to any particular person. In some languages it may be more natural to say:
One hears its sound
-or-
People hear its sound
3:8c
but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going: In your translation, you should probably use the same subject (in the Berean Standard Bible you) that you used in 3:8b. So if you followed one of the last examples in 3:8b, here are ways to translate this clause:
but no one can tell where it comes from or where it is going
-or-
but people do not know where it came from or where it goes
or: People do not know either the source or the destination (place it goes to) of the wind. Both are unknown. So in some languages it may be natural to translate or as “and.” For example:
but do not know where it comes from and where it is going (NET Bible)
General Comment on 3:8b–c
The verbs “you hear” and “you do not know” are both active. However, the subject is indefinite. So in some languages it may be more natural to use a passive verb for one or both of these verbs. For example:
Its sound is heard, but its source and destination are unknown.
3:8d
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So it is means “in the same way.” This sentence compares the way the wind blows to the way God changes people. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
It is like that with people to whom God’s Spirit gives new life.
-or-
The same is also true with a person who is born from/by ⌊the power of⌋ the Spirit of God.
everyone born of the Spirit: This is a passive expression. There are at least two ways to translate it:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
everyone who is born from the Spirit (Revised English Bible)
• Use an active verb. For example:
everyone to whom the ⌊Holy⌋ Spirit gives new birth/life
the Spirit: As in 3:5c, this refers to God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit.
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