Does the Bible say…
“For God so loved the world”
This phrase appears in John 3:16 (BSB).
John 3:16 begins verbatim in both BSB and KJV. The Greek word 'monogenes' is translated 'only begotten' (KJV) or 'one and only' (BSB).
Full reference
The actual text John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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.
Full passage in context and origin
The actual verse
John 3:16 in the BSB:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
In the KJV (1769):
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.
The opening phrase “For God so loved the world” is verbatim in both translations.
The surrounding passage
The verse appears within John 3:1–21, an exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, who has come to Jesus at night. The conversation moves from a discussion of being “born again” to the verses now numbered 14–17. The full immediate context (John 3:14–17, BSB):
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Verses 18–21 continue the discourse, contrasting belief and unbelief.
A note on translation: monogenes
The verse contains the Greek word μονογενῆ (monogenē, accusative of μονογενής, monogenēs). The word combines two elements:
- μόνος (monos) — “only, alone, single”
- γενής (related to γένος, genos) — “kind, class, type, lineage”
Standard scholarly lexicons (e.g., BDAG, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature) gloss the word as “one and only,” “unique,” “the only one of its kind.”
The KJV’s rendering “only begotten” reflects an older interpretive tradition that read the second element as derived from γεννάω (gennaō, “to beget”). Modern lexical analysis treats the word as derived from γένος rather than γεννάω, which is why most modern translations render the word “one and only” or simply “only.” The KJV and the NKJV preserve “only begotten.”
Both renderings reflect possibilities within the word’s range; readers should consult multiple translations if the precise rendering matters to their question.
The KJV–BSB comparison
| Element | KJV | BSB |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | ”For God so loved the world" | "For God so loved the world” |
| Verb of giving | ”gave his only begotten Son" | "gave His one and only Son” |
| Conditional | ”whosoever believeth in him" | "everyone who believes in Him” |
| Outcome | ”should not perish, but have everlasting life" | "shall not perish but have eternal life” |
Original language note
Original language
The verse contains the Greek word μονογενῆ (monogenē), the accusative form of μονογενής (monogenēs). The word combines μόνος ('only, alone') with γενής (related to γένος, 'kind, class, lineage'). It can be glossed as 'only one of its kind' or 'unique.' The KJV's 'only begotten' reflects an older translation tradition that read the second element as related to γεννάω ('to beget'); modern lexical scholarship (BDAG) prefers 'one and only' or 'unique.' Translations differ on which sense to render.