Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Verse 1
1. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have witnessed with our eyes, that which we contemplated and our hands handled[1] with reference to the word of the Life[2]
Chapter 1 Verse 2
2. —oh yes, the Life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and declare to you that eternal Life who was in the presence of the Father and was manifested to us—
Chapter 1 Verse 3
3. that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, so that you also may have fellowship with us;[3] indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Chapter 1 Verse 4
4. Yes, we write these things to you so that our[4] joy may be fulfilled.
Chapter 1 Verse 5
5. Now this is the message that we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and there is no darkness[5] at all in Him.
Chapter 1 Verse 6
6. If we claim that we have fellowship with Him while walking in the darkness, we are lying and not living the truth.
Chapter 1 Verse 7
7. But if we walk in the light just as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ[6] His Son cleanses us from all sin.[7]
Chapter 1 Verse 8
8. If we claim that we have no sin,[8] we are deceiving ourselves and the Truth is not in us.
Chapter 1 Verse 9
9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us those sins and to cleanse[9] us from all unrighteousness.
Chapter 1 Verse 10
10. If we claim that we have not sinned,[10] we call Him a liar and His Word is not in us.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Verse 1
1. My dear children, I am writing these things to you so that you not sin; if someone does sin, we have an Advocate in the Father’s presence, righteous Jesus Christ—
Chapter 2 Verse 2
2. also, He Himself is the propitiation for our sins;[1] not concerning ours only but also concerning those of the whole world.[2]
Chapter 2 Verse 3
3. Now by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
Chapter 2 Verse 4
4. He who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the Truth is not in him.[3]
Chapter 2 Verse 5
5. But whoever keeps His Word, God’s love has truly been perfected in him: by this we know that we are in Him.
Chapter 2 Verse 6
6. He who claims to be abiding in Him really needs to act just like He acted.[4]
Chapter 2 Verse 7
7. Brothers,[5] I am not writing a new commandment to you but an old one that you have had from the beginning; this old commandment is the word that you have heard from the beginning.
Chapter 2 Verse 8
8. Again, I am writing a new commandment to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness[6] is passing away and the true Light is already shining.
Chapter 2 Verse 9
9. He who claims to be in the Light while hating his brother is in the darkness until now.
Chapter 2 Verse 10
10. He who keeps on loving his brother is staying in the Light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
Chapter 2 Verse 11
11. But he who keeps on hating his brother is in the darkness and keeps walking in the darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Chapter 2 Verse 12
12. Dear children, I am writing to you because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake[7]
Chapter 2 Verse 13
13. —fathers, I am writing to you because you have come to know Him[8] who is from the beginning; young men, I am writing to you because you have overcome the evil one;[9] children, I am writing to you because you have come to know the Father—
Chapter 2 Verse 14
14. fathers, I have written to you because you have come to know Him who is from the beginning; young men, I have written to you because you are strong, and the Word of God remains in you,[10] and you have overcome the evil one.
Chapter 2 Verse 15
15. Do not love the world, neither the things in the world;[11] if anyone loves the world, the Father’s love is not in him.
Chapter 2 Verse 16
16. Because everything in the world—the craving of the flesh and the craving of the eyes and the pretension of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.[12]
Chapter 2 Verse 17
17. The world, with its craving, is passing away, but he who does God’s will remains forever.[13]
Chapter 2 Verse 18
18. Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared, by which we know that it is the last hour.[14]
Chapter 2 Verse 19
19. They went out from us but were not of us,[15] for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us—they left so that they might be exposed, that none of them were of us.
Chapter 2 Verse 20
20. You have an Anointing from the Holy One and understand all.[16]
Chapter 2 Verse 21
21. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the Truth.[17]
Chapter 2 Verse 22
22. Who is the liar[18] but the one denying that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one denying the Father and the Son.
Chapter 2 Verse 23
23. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either.[19]
Chapter 2 Verse 24
24. So you, let what you have heard from the beginning abide in you; if what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Father and in the Son.
Chapter 2 Verse 25
25. This is the promise that He Himself promised us—the eternal life.
Chapter 2 Verse 26
26. I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you;
Chapter 2 Verse 27
27. but really, you do not need anyone to teach you, because the Anointing that you received from Him abides in you; further, as the same Anointing teaches you concerning all things,[20] and it is true and no lie—well just as He has taught you, you will abide in Him.
Chapter 2 Verse 28
28. And now, dear children, do abide in Him, so that whenever He appears we[21] may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
Chapter 2 Verse 29
29. If you have understood that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been begotten by Him.[22]
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Verse 1
1. Consider how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God![1] The world does not acknowledge us[2] for this reason: it did not acknowledge Him.[3]
Chapter 3 Verse 2
2. Dear ones, right now we are children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is[4]
Chapter 3 Verse 3
3. —everyone who has this hope upon him purifies himself, even as He is pure.[5]
Chapter 3 Verse 4
4. Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness as well; yes, sin is lawlessness.[6]
Chapter 3 Verse 5
5. And you know that He was revealed in order to remove our sins—in Him there is no sin.[7]
Chapter 3 Verse 6
6. Whoever is abiding in Him does not sin;[8] indeed, whoever is sinning has neither seen Him nor known Him.[9]
Chapter 3 Verse 7
7. Dear children, let no one mislead you; he who keeps doing righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
Chapter 3 Verse 8
8. He who keeps doing sin is of the devil,[10] because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose: to undo[11] the devil’s works.
Chapter 3 Verse 9
9. Whoever has been begotten by God does not commit sin, because His seed remains in him; actually, he is not able to sin, because he has been begotten by God.[12]
Chapter 3 Verse 10
10. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are distinguished: whoever is not doing righteousness is not of God, also whoever is not loving his brother.
Chapter 3 Verse 11
11. Because this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another
Chapter 3 Verse 12
12. —not like Cain, who was of the evil one[13] and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
Chapter 3 Verse 13
13. My brothers, do not be surprised if the world hates you.
Chapter 3 Verse 14
14. We know that we have transferred out of the death into the life[14] because we love our brothers; he who does not love his brother[15] remains in the death.
Chapter 3 Verse 15
15. Whoever is hating his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding within himself.[16]
Chapter 3 Verse 16
16. We know the Love by this: He laid down His life in our behalf; we also are obligated to lay down our lives in behalf of our brothers.
Chapter 3 Verse 17
17. Now whoever has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart toward him—how does the love of God abide in him?
Chapter 3 Verse 18
18. My dear children, let us not love in word or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth
Chapter 3 Verse 19
19. —yes, by this we know that we are of the Truth and may put our hearts at ease in His presence,
Chapter 3 Verse 20
20. and that, if our heart should condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all.[17]
Chapter 3 Verse 21
21. Dear ones, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God,
Chapter 3 Verse 22
22. and whatever we may ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.[18]
Chapter 3 Verse 23
23. Now this is His commandment, that we believe in the name[19] of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded.
Chapter 3 Verse 24
24. He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.[20] This is how we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit whom He gave us.
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 Verse 1
1. Dear ones, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Chapter 4 Verse 2
2. By this the Spirit of God is known:[1] every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come in flesh is of God,
Chapter 4 Verse 3
3. and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus Christ[2] as having come in flesh[3] is not of God; indeed, this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming—actually, it is already in the world right now.[4]
Chapter 4 Verse 4
4. Dear children, you are of God and have overcome them,[5] because He who is in you is greater than the one in the world.[6]
Chapter 4 Verse 5
5. They are of the world; that is why they speak of the world, and the world listens to them.
Chapter 4 Verse 6
6. We are of God: he who knows God listens to us; he who is not of God does not listen to us—by this we know the Spirit of the Truth and the spirit of the deception.[7]
Chapter 4 Verse 7
7. Dear ones, we must love one another, because the love is of God and everyone who loves[8] has been begotten by God and knows God.
Chapter 4 Verse 8
8. He who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Chapter 4 Verse 9
9. God’s love was made real within us by this: God sent His only begotten Son into the world in order that we might live through Him.
Chapter 4 Verse 10
10. In this is the love, not that we loved God but that He loved us—He even sent His Son as the propitiation for our sins.[9]
Chapter 4 Verse 11
11. Dear ones, since God loved us in this way we are obligated to love one another, really.
Chapter 4 Verse 12
12. No one has ever looked at God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is being perfected in us.
Chapter 4 Verse 13
13. By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
Chapter 4 Verse 14
14. Yes, we have observed and do testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
Chapter 4 Verse 15
15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God.[10]
Chapter 4 Verse 16
16. Yes, we have come to know and believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in the love abides in God, and God in him.
Chapter 4 Verse 17
17. The love is perfected with us for this: that we may have confidence in the Day of judgment,[11] since just as He is so are we in this world.[12]
Chapter 4 Verse 18
18. There is no fear in love; rather perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment; so he who fears has not been perfected in love.[13]
Chapter 4 Verse 19
19. We love Him[14] because He first loved us.
Chapter 4 Verse 20
20. If anyone says, “I love God,” while hating his brother, he is a liar. Well, how can he love God whom he has not seen, while not loving his brother whom he has seen?
Chapter 4 Verse 21
21. Indeed, this commandment we have from Him: he who loves God must love his brother also.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 Verse 1
1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God;[1] also, whoever loves the Begetter should love the one begotten by Him as well.
Chapter 5 Verse 2
2. In this we know that we love the children of God, whenever we love God and keep His commandments.
Chapter 5 Verse 3
3. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments;[2] His commandments are not burdensome,
Chapter 5 Verse 4
4. in that whatever has been begotten by God overcomes the world;[3] this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
Chapter 5 Verse 5
5. Who is he who overcomes the world if not he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Chapter 5 Verse 6
6. This is He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by the water only, but by the water[4] and the blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the Truth;
Chapter 5 Verse 7
7. actually there are three who bear witness[5]
Chapter 5 Verse 8
8. —the Spirit, the water and the blood—and the three are to one effect.
Chapter 5 Verse 9
9. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which He has testified concerning His Son.
Chapter 5 Verse 10
10. He who believes into the Son of God has the witness within himself; he who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning His Son.
Chapter 5 Verse 11
11. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
Chapter 5 Verse 12
12. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.[6]
Chapter 5 Verse 13
13. I have written these things to you who believe into the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life, really believing into the name of God’s Son.[7]
Chapter 5 Verse 14
14. Now this is the confidence that we have toward Him: if we should ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Chapter 5 Verse 15
15. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we may ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.[8]
Chapter 5 Verse 16
16. If anyone should see his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, let him ask, and He will give him life for those who do not sin unto death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should make request about that.
Chapter 5 Verse 17
17. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.[9]
Chapter 5 Verse 18
18. We know that whoever has been begotten by God does not sin;[10] rather the one who was begotten by God preserves himself,[11] and the evil one does not touch him.[12]
Chapter 5 Verse 19
19. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.[13]
Chapter 5 Verse 20
20. We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the genuine God, and the Life eternal.
Chapter 5 Verse 21
21. Dear children, guard yourselves from idols.[14] Amen.