This is my English translation of I John, shaped by close attention to the Greek and presented here without notes for uninterrupted reading. You can also read it side-by-side with the Greek.
Note: This translation follows the principles outlined in the Johannine Epistles Translation Appendix. Translation decisions follow the Translation Micro–Style Guide.
Chapter Navigation: [Chap 1], [Chap 2], [Chap 3], [Chap 4], [Chap 5]
Chapter 1
- That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have beheld,
and our hands handled
concerning the word of life - (and the life was revealed,
and we have seen,
and we bear witness,
and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father
and was revealed to us) - that which we have seen and heard,
we proclaim to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us—
and our own fellowship is
with the Father and
with His Son Jesus Christ. - And these things we write to you so that your joy may be—and remain—complete.
- And this is the message that we have heard from him and we proclaim that God is light and darkness is not in him at all.
- If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
- But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
- If we say, “we do not have sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
- If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- If we say “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us.
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Chapter Navigation: [Chap 1], [Chap 2], [Chap 3], [Chap 4], [Chap 5]
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Chapter 2
- My children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin and if someone sins, we have an advocate to the Father, namely Jesus Christ the righteous;
- and he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, not concerning ours only—but even for the sins of the whole world.
- And by this we know that we have come to know him—if we keep his commandments.
- The one who says “I have come to know him” yet does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him,
- whoever keeps his Word—in this one the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in him.
- The one who says he abides in him ought himself to walk in the same way that one walked.
- Brothers, I am not writing a new commandment to you but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word, which you heard from the beginning.
- Again, I am writing a new command to you—which is true in him and in you—that the darkness passes away and the true light now is shining.
- The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother he is in darkness even now.
- The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
- But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he goes because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
- I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven for the sake of his name.
- I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known him from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one. I am writing to you, young children, because you know the Father.
- I wrote to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I wrote to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.
- Do not love the world or those things in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- For all that is in the in the world—the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
- And the world is passing away along with its lust; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
- Children, this is the last hour and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared, by which we will know that this is the last hour.
- They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out so that it would be revealed that not all men are of us.
- And you have the anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
- I have not written to you because you do not know the truth but because you know it, and because no lie is from the truth.
- Who is the liar, if not the one who is denying that Jesus is the Christ; this is the antichrist, the one who is denying the Father and the Son.
- Whosoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
- Therefore, let that which you who have heard from the beginning remain in you. If you let that which you have heard from the beginning remain in you, then you will remain in the Son and the Father.
- And this is the promise which he himself promised to us—eternal life.
- These things I have written to you concerning the ones who are trying to deceive you.
- And as for you—the anointing which you received from him remains in you and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as the anointing itself teaches you concerning all things, and is true and is not false, just as it taught you, remain in him.
- And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him, in his presence.
- If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does righteousness is begotten of him.
Chapter Navigation: [Chap 1], [Chap 2], [Chap 3], [Chap 4], [Chap 5]
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Chapter 3
- See what kind of love the Father has given us that he calls us the children of God. Through this the world does not know us, because it did not know him.
- Beloved, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, because we will see him just as he is.
- And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as that one is pure.
- Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
- And you know, that he himself was revealed in order to take away our sins; and sin is not in him.
- Everyone who remains in him does not keep on sinning; everyone who keeps on sinning has neither seen him nor known him.
- Children, let no one deceive you, the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous.
- The one who practices sin is from the devil, because from the beginning the devil sins. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.
- The one begotten of God does not practice sin because his seed in him remains; and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God.
- By this the children of God and the children of the devil are plainly visible: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not from God, neither is the one who does not love his brother.
- For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another—
- not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slaughtered his brother. And for what reason did he slaughter him? Because his works were evil, but those of his brother were righteous.
- Wonder not my brothers if the world hates you.
- We know that we have passed out of death to life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love the brothers abides in death.
- The one who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that the one who is a murderer does not have eternal life abiding in him.
- In this we have come to know the love of God, because that one laid down his life for us; and we ourselves are obliged to lay our lives for the brothers.
- But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother in need, yet shuts off his compassion from him—how can the love of God abide in him?
- My children, let us not love in word or tongue but in deed and truth.
- And by this we know that we are of the truth and in his presence we quiet our hearts,
- for if our heart condemns us, this we know: that God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
- Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God,
- and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and we practice what is pleasing in his sight.
- And this is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he gave us this commandment.
- And whoever keeps his commandments abides in him and he in him. And in this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he gave to us.
Chapter Navigation: [Chap 1], [Chap 2], [Chap 3], [Chap 4], [Chap 5]
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Chapter 4
- Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but examine the spirits whether they be from God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- In this you know the Spirit of God: any spirit which confesses Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh is from God;
- and every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and now is already in the world.
- You are from God, children, and you have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
- They are from the world; for this reason they speak from the world and the world listens to them.
- We are from God; whoever knows God hears us; whoever is not from God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
- Beloved, let us love one another; because love is from God, and the one who loves has been born from God and knows God.
- The one who does not love has not known God; because God is love.
- In this was the love of God revealed in us, because God has sent his unique Son into the world so that we may live through him.
- In this is love: not because we loved God, but because he loved us, and sent his Son as an expiation concerning our sins.
- Beloved, if God loved us in this manner, we also are obligated to love one another.
- No one ever has beheld God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
- In this we know that we remain in him, and he in us, because he has given to us of his Spirit.
- And we have seen and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
- If anyone confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him and he abides in God.
- And we have known and have believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God in him.
- In this, love has been perfected with us so that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because just as he is, so also are we in this world.
- There is no fear in love, rather perfect love casts out fear because fear involves punishment; but the one who fears has not been perfected in love.
- We love him because he first loved us.
- If anyone says “I love God,” and hates his brother he is a liar: for the one who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
- And we have this commandment from him, that the one who loves God also loves his brother.
Chapter Navigation: [Chap 1], [Chap 2], [Chap 3], [Chap 4], [Chap 5]
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Chapter 5
- Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God; and everyone who loves the one who begot also loves the one who has been born of him.
- In this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.
- For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not burdensome.
- Because whatever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith.
- Who is he who overcomes the world, if not the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God?
- This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus the Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.
- Because three are bearing witness in heaven, the Father, the word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.
- And three are bearing witness in the earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three are as one.
- If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; because this is the testimony of God: which he has borne concerning his Son.
- The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; The one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony which God has borne concerning his Son.
- And this is the testimony: that God has given eternal life to us, and this life is in his Son.
- The one who has the Son, has life: the one who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
- These things I have written to you, the ones who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.
- And this is the confidence which we have toward him: that if anyone should ask according his will, he hears us;
- And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the request, which we asked from him.
- If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not unto death, he will ask and he will give him life—to those who sin not unto death. There is sin unto death; concerning that I do not say that he should ask.
- All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that is not unto death.
- We know that all those who are begotten of God do not sin; but the begotten of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not take hold of him.
- We know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the evil one.
- And we know that the Son of God has come and has given understanding to us so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true: in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and the life eternal.
- Children, guard yourselves from idols. Amen.
Chapter Navigation: [Chap 1], [Chap 2], [Chap 3], [Chap 4], [Chap 5]
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