The Greek term in John 3.16 is ἀπόληται (apoletai). It can mean "to destroy or kill" (hence the translation "perish") or "To lose or suffer loss" (hence the translation "nicht verlorengeht"). The translator finds himself in a place where he and she must try to discern John's context and meaning.

It's an aorist (intransitive) middle subjunctive. The aorist denotes action as simply occurring, without reference to or making a commitment to its duration. It's like a photograph rather than a video.

Intransitive means there is no direct object. We are not given any other information about this "perishing" or "loss."

The middle voice describes the subject as participating in the results of the action, stressing the agent. In this case, the individual who does not believe suffers destruction or loss.

The subjunctive is the mood of probability. Here it shows that no destiny is set in stone. It speaks not of what is actual but what is potential. Our destiny follows our belief or unbelief.

The reason many translators use "perish" is because the verse sets up ἀπόληται as the adverse of "everlasting life" (ζωὴν αἰώνιον) in this world and the next. He is speaking of final states. It means final loss, ultimate loss, eternal loss, presumably because of God's judgment (v. 18).

German vs Englisch translation John 3:16 Should I read the Bible in English or German?

As my mother tongue is German I’m reading a German Bible (two translations actually Schlachter 2000 and Luther 1984)
I came across a verse where the German translation/ chosen verb seems like an understatement - in my opinion!- in comparison to the English translation:

German Schlachter 2000:

[quote]„Denn so [sehr] hat Gott die Welt geliebt, dass er seinen eingeborenen Sohn gab, damit jeder, der an ihn glaubt, nicht verlorengeht , sondern ewiges Leben hat.“ ‭‭ [/quote]

ESV: [quote]„“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.“ ‭ [/quote]
It’s verloren gehen / perish.

Verloren gehen means : to get lost, to go astray , to go missing etc.

And perish: zu Grunde gehen (to decay), verderben (go bad), zerstört werden (be destroyed/damaged/broken) etc.

[url]https://m.dict.cc/englisch-deutsch/Perish.html[/url]

I think the word perish says more than “verloren gehen” and I don’t understand why this word was chosen and now I don’t know which Bible version to read (as if I didn’t already was debating on textus receptus or the critical text...) (btw I do have a King James Version Bible and my mother also has a NIV Bible )