Bible verse
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.
John 3:16 · BSB
The Greek word behind "so" means in this way, thus — pointing back to the snake lifted up in the wilderness two verses earlier. The sentence is closer to "this is how God loved the world: He gave His only Son" than to "God loved the world so very much."
Both are true. But the verse is making a claim about what the love did rather than how strongly it was felt, which is harder to sentimentalise.
It was also said at night, to one man, in a private conversation with a religious leader who came when nobody would see him.
The verses around it, from John 3.
12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
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.
18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
KJV
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.
ASV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
ERV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
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Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.