1 ¶ That awhich was from the beginning, that we have heard, that we have bseen with our eyes, cthat we have looked upon and dour hands have handled, we proclaim concerning the eWord of life.
2 For fthe life gwas manifested and we have seen hand bear witness and show to you that eternal life that was iwith the Father and was manifested to us.
3 That which we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is jwith the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
4 And these things we write to you so kthat your joy may be full.
5 ¶ lThis then is the message that we have heard from Him and declare to you, that mGod is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 nIf we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we owalk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and pthe blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we qconfess our sins, He is rfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and to scleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we tmake Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Chapter 1 References:
a Jn 1:1; b Jn 1:14; c 2 Pt 1:16; d Lk 24:39; e Jn 1:1,4,14;
f Jn 1:4; g Rm 16:26; h Jn 21:24; i Jn 1:1,18; 16:28;
j 1 Co 1:9; k Jn 15:11; 16:24; l 1 Jn 3:11; m 1 Tm 6:16;
n 1 Jn 2:9-11; o Is 21:5; p 1 Co 6:11; q Pv 28:13;
r Rm 3:24-26; s Ps 51:2; t 1 Jn 5:10
1 ¶ My little children, these things I write to you so that you do not sin. And if anyone sins, awe have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 And bHe is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but calso for the whole world.
3 ¶ And by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a dliar. And the truth is not in him.
5 But ewhoever keeps His word, fin him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him.
6 gHe who says he abides in Him hought himself also to walk just as He walked.
7 ¶ Beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you had ifrom the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
8 Again, ja new commandment I write to you, which is true in Him and in you, kbecause the darkness is passing and lthe true Light is already shining.
9 ¶ mHe who says he is in the Light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 nHe who loves his brother abides in the Light and othere is no cause for stumbling in him.
11 But he who phates his brother is in darkness and qwalks in darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I write to you, little children, rbecause your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake.
13 I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is sfrom the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have tknown the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because uyou are strong and the word of God abides in you. And you have overcome the wicked one.
15 ¶ vDo not love the world nor the things in the world. wIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh and xthe lust of the eyes and the pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 And ythe world is passing away with its lust. But he who does the will of God abides forever.
18 ¶ zLittle children, ait is the last hour. And as you have heard that the bantichrist is coming, ceven now there are many antichrists. By this we know dthat it is the last hour.
19 eThey went out from us, but they were not of us, for fif they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out so gthat they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
20 ¶ But hyou have an anointing ifrom the Holy One, and jyou know all things.
21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
22 ¶ kWho is a liar? It is the one who denies that lJesus is the Christ. This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
23 mWhoever denies the Son does not have the nFather. oHe who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 ¶ Therefore, let that abide in you pwhich you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, qyou also will continue in the Son and in the Father.
25 And rthis is the promise that He has promised us: eternal life.
26 ¶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.
27 But the sanointing that you have received from Him abides in you, and tyou do not need that anyone teach you. But as the same anointing uteaches you all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
28 ¶ And now, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears, we may have vconfidence and not shrink away from Him at His coming.
29 wIf you know that He is righteous, you know that xeveryone who practices righteousness has been born from Him.
Chapter 2 References:
a Hb 7:25; 9:24; b Rm 3:25; c Jn 1:29; d Rm 3:4; e Jn 14:21,23;
f 1 Jn 4:12; g Jn 15:4; h 1 Pt 2:21; i 1 Jn 3:11,23; 4:21;
j Jn 13:34; 15:12; k Rm 13:12; l Jn 1:9; 8:12; 12:35;
m 1 Co 13:2; n 1 Jn 3:14; o 2 Pt 1:10; p 1 Jn 2:9; 3:15; 4:20;
q Jn 12:35; r 1 Co 6:11; s Jn 1:1; t Rm 8:15-17; u Ep 6:10;
v Rm 12:2; w Js 4:4; x Ec 5:10,11; y 1 Co 7:31; z Jn 21:5;
a 1 Pt 4:7; b 2 Th 2:3; c 2 Jn 7; d 1 Tm 4:1; e Dt 13:13;
f Mt 24:24; g 1 Co 11:19; h 2 Co 1:21; i At 3:14; j Jn 16:13;
k 2 Jn 7; l 1 Jn 4:3; m Jn 15:23; n Jn 5:23; o 1 Jn 4:15; 5:1;
p 2 Jn 5,6; q Jn 14:23; r Jn 3:14-16; 6:40; 17:2,3;
s Jn 14:16; 16:13; t Jr 31:33; u Jn 14:16;
v 1 Jn 3:21; 4:17; 5:14; w At 22:14; x 1 Jn 3:7,10
1 ¶ Behold, awhat manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that bwe should be called children of God. And such we are. Therefore, the world does not know us, cbecause it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, dnow we are the children of God, and eit has not yet been revealed what we will be. But we know that when He appears, fwe will be like Him, for gwe will see Him as He is.
3 And heveryone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 ¶ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and isin is lawlessness.
5 And you know jthat He was manifested to ktake away our sins. And lin Him there is no sin.
6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has not seen Him or known Him.
7 ¶ Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
8 mHe who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, nthat He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whoever has been oborn from God does not commit sin, for pHis seed remains in him. And he cannot sin because he is born from God.
10 ¶ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not from God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, qthat we should love one another,
12 not as rCain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And for what reason did he murder him? Because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
13 ¶ My brethren, do not marvel if sthe world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
15 tWhoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that uno murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 ¶ vBy this we know love, wbecause He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But xwhoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 ¶ My little children, ylet us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
19 And by this we will know zthat we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him.
20 aFor if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, bwe have confidence toward God.
22 And cwhatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and ddo those things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, eand love one another, just as He gave us commandment.
24 ¶ And fhe who keeps His commandments gabides in Him, and He in him. And hby this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given to us.
Chapter 3 References:
a 1 Jn 4:10; b Jn 1:12; c Jn 15:18,21; 16:3; d Rm 8:15,16;
e Rm 8:18,19,23; f Rm 8:29; g Ps 16:11; h 1 Jn 4:17;
i Rm 4:15; j 1 Jn 1:2; 3:8; k Jn 1:29; l 2 Co 5:21;
m Mt 13:38; n Lk 10:18; o Jn 3:3; p 1 Pt 1:23;
q Jn 13:34; 15:12; r Gn 4:4,8; s Jn 15:18; 17:14;
t Mt 5:21; u Gl 5:20,21; v Jn 3:16; w Jn 10:11; 15:13;
x Dt 15:7; y Ez 33:31; z Jn 18:37; a 1 Co 4:4,5;
b 1 Jn 2:28; 5:14; c Ps 34:15; d Jn 8:29;
e Mt 22:39; f Jn 14:23; g Jn 14:21; 17:21;
h Rm 8:9,14,16
1 ¶ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but atest the spirits to see whether they are from God, because bmany false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: cEvery spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard was coming, and even now is already in the world.
4 ¶ You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than dhe who is in the world.
5 eThey are from the world. Therefore, they speak from the world, and fthe world hears them.
6 We are from God. He who knows God hears us. He who is not from God does not hear us. gBy this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
7 ¶ hBeloved, let us love one another, for love is from God. And everyone who iloves is born from God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 jIn this the love of God was manifested to us, that God sent His only begotten kSon into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, lnot that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son mto be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
11 Beloved, nif God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
12 ¶ oNo one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us and His love is perfected in us.
13 pBy this we know that we dwell in Him and He in us, because He has given to us from His Spirit.
14 And qwe have seen and do testify that rthe Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 sWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and the who dwells in love dwells in God and God uin him.
17 ¶ In this is our love made perfect, so that vwe may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as He is, so also are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 wWe love because He first loved us.
20 ¶ xIf anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God ywhom he has not seen.
21 And zthis commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Chapter 4 References:
a 1 Co 14:29; b Mt 24:5; c 1 Co 12:3; d Jn 14:30; 16:11;
e Jn 3:31; f Jn 15:19; 17:14; g 1 Co 2:12–16;
h 1 Jn 3:10,11,23; i 1 Th 4:9; j Rm 5:8; k Jn 3:16;
l Ti 3:5; m 1 Jn 2:2; n Mt 18:33; o Jn 1:18;
p Jn 14:20; q Jn 1:14; r Jn 3:17; 4:42;
s Rm 10:9; t 1 Jn 3:24; u Jn 14:23;
v 1 Jn 2:28; w 1 Jn 4:10; x 1 Jn 2:14;
y 1 Jn 4:12; z Mt 5:43,44; 22:39
1 ¶ Whoever believes that aJesus is the Christ is bborn from God. And everyone who loves Him who gives birth also loves him who is born of Him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and ckeep His commandments.
3 dFor this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And eHis commandments are not burdensome.
4 For fwhoever is born from God overcomes the world. And this is the victory gthat overcomes the world, our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but hhe who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 ¶ This is He who came iby water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And jit is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.
7 For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, kthe Word, and the Holy Spirit; land these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: mthe Spirit and the water and the blood. And these three are in agreement.
9 ¶ If we receive nthe witness of men, the witness of God is greater. oFor this is the witness of God, that He has testified concerning His Son.
10 He who believes in the Son of God phas the witness in himself. He who does not believe God qhas made Him a liar, because he does not believe the testimony that God gave of His Son.
11 And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son.
12 rHe who has the Son has the life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
13 ¶ These things I have written to you who believe on the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
14 ¶ And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that sif we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked from Him.
16 ¶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he will ask and tHe will give to him life for those who do not commit sin unto death. uThere is a sin unto death. vI do not say that he should pray for this.
17 wAll unrighteousness is sin. And there is a sin not leading to death.
18 ¶ We know that xwhoever is born from God does not sin. But he who is born from God ykeeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
19 ¶ And we know that we are from God, and zthe whole world lies in wickedness.
20 ¶ And we know that the aSon of God is come and bhas given us understanding so cthat we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. dThis is the true God eand eternal life.
21 ¶ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Chapter 5 References:
a 1 Jn 2:22; 4:2,15; b Jn 1:13; c Jn 15:10; d Jn 14:15;
e Mt 11:30; 23:4; f Jn 16:33; g 1 Jn 2:13; 4:4;
h 1 Co 15:57; i Jn 1:31–34; j Jn 14:17; k Jn 1:1;
l Jn 10:30; m Jn 15:26; n Jn 5:34,37; 8:17,18;
o Mt 3:16,17; p Rm 8:16; q Jn 3:18,33;
r Jn 3:15,36; 6:47; 17:2,3; s 1 Jn 2:28; 3:21,22;
t Jb 42:8; u Mt 12:31; v Jr 7:16; 14:11;
w 1 Jn 3:4; x 1 Pt 1:23; y Js 1:27;
z Gl 1:4; a 1 Jn 4:2; b Lk 24:45;
c Jn 17:3; d Is 9:6; e 1 Jn 5:11,12