The short answerWhat is this leaf?

These are two pages from Papyrus 66 — a nearly complete copy of the Gospel of John, one of the earliest ever found. They carry the heart of Jesus’ night conversation with Nicodemus: “you must be born anew,” “the wind blows where it wishes,” and the best-known sentence in the New Testament — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son.”

Almost the whole text survives as real ink, so this page lets you read your replica front and back, essentially in full. And because the scribe of P66 checked and corrected his own work, this leaf even shows him fixing a line he had skipped — caught in the act, 1,800 years ago.

The featureA scribe correcting himself

Look at the back page. In verse 17 the sentence should read “God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved.” The scribe’s eye slipped and he left the middle phrase out — then he caught it. Rather than start the page over, he wrote the missing words, ΙΝΑ ΚΡΙΝΗ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ (“that he might judge the world”), at the very top of the page and placed a small mark ┴ in the line to show exactly where they belonged.

Papyrus 66 is famous for this. Its scribe went back over his own copy and corrected it hundreds of times — more than almost any other early manuscript. This one leaf preserves two of those live corrections, a rare, human glimpse of an ancient book being made and checked by hand.

Line by lineThe Greek exactly as it sits on the leaf

Transcribed from the INTF transcription (NTVMR, pages 13–14) and shown in the majuscule capitals the scribe used, with the original line breaks. Sacred names keep the scribe’s overline; his insertion marks are kept in place. The photograph sits beside each side so you can compare the letters directly.

Front — John 3:7–14 (Nicodemus & the wind)

1ΣΗΣ ΟΤΙ ΕΙΠΟΝ ΣΟΙ ΔΕΙ ΥΜΑΣ ΓΕΝΝΗJohn 3:7

2ΘΗΝΑΙ ΑΝΩΘΕΝ· ΤΟ ΠΝΕΥΑ ΟΠΟΥ3:8

3ΘΕΛΕΙ ΠΝΕΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΦΩΝΗΝ ΑΥΤΟΥ

4ΑΚΟΥΕΙΣ· ΑΛΛ ΟΥΚ ΟΙΔΑΣ ΠΟΘΕΝ ΕΡ

5ΧΕΤΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΠΟΥ ΥΠΑΓΕΙ· ΟΥΤΩΣ ΕΣΤΙΝ

6ΠΑΣ Ο ΓΕΝΗΜΕΝΟΣ ΕΚ ΤΟΥ ΠΝΣ· ΑΠΕ3:9

7ΚΡΙΘΗ ΝΙΚΟΔΗΜΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΙΠΕΝ ΑΥΤΩ

8ΠΩΣ ΔΥΝΑΤΑΙ ΤΑΥΤΑ ΓΕΝΕΣΘΑΙ·

9ΑΠΕΚΡΙΘΗ ΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΙΠΕΝ ΑΥΤΩ ΣΥ ΕΙ3:10

10Ο ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΙΣΡΑΗΛ ΚΑΙ ΤΑΥ

11ΤΑ ΟΥ ΓΕΙΝΩΣΚΕΙΣ· ΑΜΗΝ ΑΜΗΝ ΛΕ3:11

12ΓΩ ΣΟΙ ΟΤΙ Ο ΟΙΔΑΜΕΝ ΛΑΛΟΥΜΕΝ ΚΑΙ

13Ο ΕΩΡΑΚΕΜΕΝ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΟΥΜΕΝ· ΚΑΙ

14ΤΗΝ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΝ ΗΜΩΝ ΟΥ ΛΑΜΒΑ

15ΝΕΤΑΙ· ΕΙ ΤΑ ΕΠΙΓΙΑ ΕΙΠΟΝ ΥΜΕΙΝ ΚΑΙ3:12

16ΟΥ ΠΙΣΤΕΥΕΤΕ ΠΩΣ ΕΑΝ ΕΙΠΩ ΥΜΕΙΝ

17ΤΑ ΕΠΟΥΡΑΝΙΑ ΠΙΣΤΕΥΣΕΤΑΙ· ΚΑΙ ΟΥ3:13

18ΔΙΣ ΑΝΑΒΕΒΗΚΕΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΟΥΡΑΝΟΝ

19ΕΙ ΜΗ Ο ΕΚ ΤΟΥ ΟΥΡΑΝΟΥ ΚΑΤΑΒΑΣ Ο ΥΣ

20ΤΟΥ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥ· ΚΑΙ ΚΑΘΩΣ ΜΩ3:14

Back — John 3:14–21 (“God so loved the world”)

┴ ΙΝΑ ΚΡΙΝΗ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ·Written by the scribe above the column — the words of 3:17 he first skipped, keyed back in with the insertion mark ┴ at line 11

1ΥΣΗΣ ΥΨΩΣΕΝ ΤΟΝ ΟΦΙΝ ΕΝ ΤΗ ΕJohn 3:14

2ΡΗΜΩ· ΟΥΤΩΣ ΥΨΩΘΗΝΑΙ ΔΕΙ ΤΟΝ

3ΥΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥ ΙΝΑ ΠΑΣ Ο ΠΙΣ3:15

4ΤΕΥΩΝ ΕΠ ΑΥΤΩ ΕΧΗ ΖΩΗΝ ΑΙΩΝΙ

5ΟΝ ΟΥΤΩΣ ΓΑΡ ΗΓΑΠΗΣΕΝ Ο ΘΣ3:16

6ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ ΩΣΤΕ ΤΟΝ ΥΝ ΤΟΝ

7ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΗ ΕΔΩΚΕΝ ΙΝΑ ΠΑΣ Ο

8ΠΙΣΤΕΥΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΝ ΜΗ ΑΠΟΛΗ

9ΤΑΙ ΑΛΛ ΕΧΗ ΖΩΗΝ ΑΙΩΝΙΟΝ· ΟΥ3:17

10ΓΑΡ ΑΠΕΣΤΙΛΕΝ Ο ΘΣ ΤΟΝ ΥΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣ

11ΜΟΝ ⊤ ΑΛΛ ΙΝΑ ΣΩΘΗ Ο ΚΟΣΜΟΣ ΔΙ ΑΥ

12ΤΟΥ Ο ΠΙΣΤΕΥΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΝ ΟΥ ΚΡΙΝΕ3:18

13ΤΑΙ· Ο ΔΕ ΜΗ ΠΙΣΤΕΥΩΝ ΗΔΗ ΚΕΚΡΙ

14ΤΑΙ ΟΤΙ ΜΗ ΠΕΠΙΣΤΕΥΚΕΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΟΝΟ

15ΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΥΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΘΥ

16ΑΥΤΗ ΔΕ ΕΣΤΙΝ Η ΚΡΙΣΙΣ ΟΤΙ ⊤ ΦΩΣ3:19

17ΕΛΗΛΥΘΕΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΗΓΑ

18ΠΗΣΑΝ ΜΑΛΛΟΝ ΟΙ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΙ ΤΟ

19ΣΚΟΤΟΣ Η ΤΟ ΦΩΣ ΗΝ ΓΑΡ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΠΟ

20ΝΗΡΑ ΤΑ ΕΡΓΑ· ΠΑΣ ΓΑΡ Ο ΦΑΥΛΑ ΠΡΑΣ3:20

21ΣΩΝ ΜΕΙΣΙ ΤΟ ΦΩΣ ΚΑΙ ΟΥΚ ΕΡΧΕΤΑΙ

Word by wordRead it, sound it out, and see the meaning

The whole leaf, word by word: the Greek on the leaf, a transliteration to sound it out, and a word-for-word English gloss, with the smooth translation after each passage. Sacred names carry the scribe’s overline; their meaning is in the gloss. A gold underline marks a word carried across the break between the two pages, and the bronze boxes are the four words the scribe added back in.

Born of the Spirit; the wind blows — John 3:7–8

“How can this be?” — John 3:9–10

We speak what we know — John 3:11–12

The Son of Man came down — John 3:13–14

…so must the Son of Man be lifted up — John 3:14–15

For God so loved the world — John 3:16

Not to judge, but to save — John 3:17

Belief and judgment — John 3:18

Light has come into the world — John 3:19–20

Reading the detailsTextual notes

The scribe’s corrections. This leaf carries two of P66’s insertion marks. At 3:17 the copyist skipped “that he might judge the world” and added it at the top of the page; at 3:19 a second mark (“…the judgment, that the light has come”) flags the small article he restored. P66 is the most heavily self-corrected of the early New Testament papyri — its scribe reviewed and mended his own work throughout.

Wind and Spirit, side by side. In 3:8 the same Greek word means both “wind” and “Spirit.” Watch how the scribe treats it: for the wind that blows he writes it out plainly (ΠΝΕΥΑ), but a few words later, for “born of the Spirit,” he contracts it to the sacred ΠΝΣ with an overline — two different meanings, marked two different ways.

A distinctive shorter reading. At the end of 3:13 many later manuscripts add “the Son of Man who is in heaven.” P66 does not: it reads simply “…the Son of Man,” then moves straight on to “and as Moses…” — one of the early, shorter readings this manuscript is valued for.

Everyday spellings. The scribe writes as he spoke: ΓΕΙΝΩΣΚΕΙΣ for ΓΙΝΩΣΚΕΙΣ (“you know”), ΥΜΕΙΝ for ΥΜΙΝ (“to you”), ΟΥΔΙΣ for ΟΥΔΕΙΣ (“no one”), ΑΠΕΣΤΙΛΕΝ for ΑΠΕΣΤΕΙΛΕΝ (“sent”) and ΜΕΙΣΙ for ΜΙΣΕΙ (“hates”) — ordinary phonetic spellings (itacism) of the period, where ΕΙ and Ι had come to sound alike.

The manuscriptAt a glance

Why it mattersAn early John, checked by hand

Papyrus 66 is one of the earliest substantial copies of any Gospel and among the most complete — a nearly whole book of John surviving from around the year 200. That alone makes it one of the most important witnesses to the text of the Fourth Gospel.

What sets it apart is how human it is. Its scribe did not simply copy; he went back over his work and corrected it more than four hundred times — smoothing slips, restoring skipped words, second-guessing himself. This leaf shows that process in miniature: the great sentence of John 3:16, and right beside it a line the copyist first missed and then carefully put back. It is Scripture and workshop at once.

ReferencesSources

• Transcription (surviving text): INTF transcription of 𝔓66, New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room, doc. ID 10066, pages 13 and 14 (John 3).
• Manuscript images: Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cologny (Geneva); photographs from the Manuscript Shop listing.
• Editio princeps: V. Martin, Papyrus Bodmer II: Évangile de Jean chap. 1–14 (Cologny–Genève, 1956).
• Dating & significance: V. Martin; H. Hunger; B. Nongbri; K. Aland & B. Aland, The Text of the New Testament.
• Word-for-word glosses follow standard tagged Greek New Testament data (STEP Bible, Tyndale House; Berean Interlinear).
• Smooth translation: World English Bible (public domain), ebible.org.