⁵ he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water^[a] of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.^(A)

¹⁸ In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave birth to us by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.^(A)

²³ You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.^[a](A)

⁹ Those who have been born of God do not sin because God’s seed abides in them;^[a] they cannot sin because they have been born of God.^(A)