Words Matter: Πνεῦμα pneúma [wind, breath, life, Spirit],
Sometimes, while translators are able to accurately convey the meaning of the section, in doing so, they lose the poetry or flow of the words that exist in the original language. The apostle Paul, in particular, was fond of playing word games, often using words that sound alike in order to emphasize his meanings. Jesus, in his conversation with Nicodemus, does this by playing on the multiple meanings for the Greek word (Πνεῦμα pneúma); wordplay that is lost in the English. I have rewritten the appropriate sections below, changing the word “Numa” to all the same word: “wind” in the first one, and “spirit” in the second one, just to give you a little insight into what his listeners actually heard. Remember, the listeners would’ve had to decide from context what exactly He was talking about and so their confusion makes more sense.
John 3:5–8 (ESV)
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Wind, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Wind is wind. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where 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 Wind.”
John 3:5–8 (ESV)
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The spirit blows where 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.”
A little bit harder to follow, isn’t it? But it does make it clearer why Jesus chose to use the “wind” as an example of those who are born of the Spirit. One of my vivid memories from my Greek classes was the instructor telling us that if we thought we were going to learn the language to find a hidden gospel or hidden message, not to waste our time. He likened reading the original languages to watching a movie in color versus black-and-white. The same story, the same words, but the color adds a nuance that is missing from the black-and-white. Hopefully this little exercise added some color for you.
Terry Poperszky