Mat 12:20, 19:30, Joh 3:1-21, 7:50-52 | ESV | STEP | a bruised reed he will not break , and a smoldering wick he will not quench , until he brings justice to victory ;

Matthew 12:20

20 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;

Matthew 19:30

30 But ^amany who are ^bfirst will be last, and the last first.

John 3:1-21

You Must Be Born Again

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named ^cNicodemus, ^da ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus ^{▼▼Greek him} ^fby night and said to him, ^g“Rabbi, ^hwe know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do ⁱunless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is ^jborn ^kagain ^{▼▼Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7} he cannot ^msee the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ⁿof water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 ^oThat which is born of the flesh is ^pflesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ^{▼▼The same Greek word means both wind and spirit} 7 ^rDo not marvel that I said to you, ‘You ^{▼▼The Greek for you is plural here} must be born ^tagain.’ 8 ^uThe wind ^{▼▼The same Greek word means both wind and spirit} blows ^wwhere it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus said to him, ^x“How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel ^yand yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, ^zwe speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but ^aayou ^{▼▼The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12} do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 ^acNo one has ^adascended into heaven except ^aehe who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add who is in heaven} 14 And ^agas Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ^ahbe lifted up, 15 that whoever believes ^aiin him ^ajmay have eternal life. ^{▼▼Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15}

For God So Loved the World

16 “For ^alGod so loved ^amthe world, ^{▼▼Or For this is how God loved the world} ^aothat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not ^apperish but have eternal life. 17 For ^aqGod did not send his Son into the world ^arto condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 ^asWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not ^atbelieved in the name of the only Son of God. 19 ^auAnd this is the judgment: ^avthe light has come into the world, and ^awpeople loved the darkness rather than the light because ^axtheir works were evil. 20 ^ayFor everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, ^azlest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever ^badoes what is true ^bbcomes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 7:50-52

50 ^bcNicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 ^bd“Does our law judge a man without first ^begiving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, ^bf“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that ^bgno prophet arises from Galilee.”