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[3:19-24] • [4:1-6] • [4:7-12] • [4:13-15] • [4:16-21] • [5:1-3]
[5:4-5] • [5:6-12] • [5:13-15] • [5:16-17] • [5:18-20] • [5:21]
Text and Translation
Greek Text
4. πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ· καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία.
5. καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη, ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἄρῃ· καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστι.
6. πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν, οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν.
7. τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστι, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν·
8. ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν, ὅτι ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει. εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου.
9. πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει· καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
10. ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστι τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου· πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.
English Translation
4. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
5. And you know, that he himself was revealed in order to take away our sins; and sin is not in him.
6. Everyone who remains in him does not keep on sinning; everyone who keeps on sinning has neither seen him nor known him.
7. Children, let no one deceive you, the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
Graphical Grammar
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Weighty Words
- ἄρῃ – 3rd sing. aor. act. subj. ▶ αἴρω: take away, remove
- ἑώρακεν – 3rd sing. perf. act. ind. ▶ ὁράω: to see
- ἔγνωκεν – 3rd sing. perf. act. ind. ▶ γινώσκω: to know
- οὐδέ – negative conjunction, combination of οὐ and δέ: and not even/nor. In verse six, it’s additive and intensifying; a second negation building on the first.
- πλανάτω – 3rd sing. pres. act. imp. ▶ πλανάω: to lead astray; to deceive
- λύσῃ – 3rd sing. aor. act. subj. ▶ λύω: fundamentally means loosen, untie, and dismantle. In contexts of systems, works, bonds, and structures, it very naturally means destroy by dismantling. John is not saying “annihilate” or “obliterate.” Rather, he’s saying “undo,” “break apart,” or “render ineffective.”
Syntax Sense
πᾶς ὁ + participle
We’ve looked at participles + articles in prior lessons (see here and here), but here is a slightly different semantic situation. A participle with the article may denote an entire class. The same is true with πᾶς ὁ followed by a participle or adjective. (Smyth §1124.) Thus, πᾶς ὁ plus the participle is the generic individual: “Everyone who ….”
καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι — content, not cause
After verbs of knowing, saying, perceiving, ὅτι introduces content, not cause. (BDAG at 731.) So here, οἴδατε ὅτι = “you know that …” not “because …”
ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη — emphatic subject, passive
- ἐκεῖνος is emphatic
- “that one,” “he himself”
- pointing back to Christ with contrastive weight
- ἐφανερώθη is aorist passive
- “was manifested”
- the passive form emphasizes manifestation/revelation rather than mere arrival.
English can say “appeared,” but translators mustn’t lose the sense of divine disclosure. Rendering it “was revealed,” keeps that sense.
ὁ μένων / ὁ ἁμαρτάνων
Technically, these can be translated as simple English presents: “who remains”; “who sins.” But translating it as such glosses over an important aspectual nuance. Keep in mind that μένων is present participle → ongoing state, and ἁμαρτάνων is present participle → ongoing practice. John is not talking about a single act of sin or a momentary lapse. He is talking about characteristic behavior. This is why many translations add words like “keeps on sinning” and “practices sin.” That move is interpretive, but it’s not arbitrary — it’s aspect-sensitive.
οὐχ ἑώρακεν … οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν
Both verbs (ἑώρακεν and ἔγνωκεν) are perfect active indicative. Perfect here means (1) past action with (2) continuing result. Thus, “has not seen” and “has not known.”
μηδεὶς + imperative = strong prohibition.
ὁ ποιῶν – “the one who practices.” Using “practices” brings out the Greek aspect.
ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν – ἐκ + gen = source / origin / affiliation, not mere influence.
εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ – εἰς τοῦτο is telic (“to this end,” “for this purpose”), not merely explanatory.
καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ
There is no explicit verb in the final clause. Greek commonly omits verbs when they are supplied from a previous clause, and the parallelism is tight and obvious. Here, the implied verb is οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ. So the full sense is “and the one who does not love his brother is not from God.”
Demystifying the Discourse
In the previous section, we started our discussion of “revealed identity.” This passage of John develops that revealed identity through practiced orientation. That is, conduct reveals belonging.
John draws very sharp categories in this passage:
- children of God;
- children of the devil;
- abiding;
- sinning;
- righteousness; and
- love.
This is not isolated moral exhortation. It is identity disclosure.
The repeated πᾶς ὁ, ἐκ τοῦ, γεγέννηται, μένει, and ποιεῖ all reinforce the visible manifestation of the underlying origin and belonging.
Your turn!
This is one of the longest passages that we’ve translated in a single TBWM. On top of that, this passage is a grammar-heavy passage, especially for John. Nice work! Let’s dig in with a few targeted questions.
- In verse 9, does πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ refer to Christ? Defend your answer using grammar, your grammatical diagram, or your discourse analysis.
- Do you agree that ἐκεῖνος in this passage is a Christological reference? If so why? If not, why not? Defend your answer using grammar, your grammatical diagram, or your discourse analysis.
- Compare this passage to 1 John 2:3-6. Do you see a relationship between these passages? If so, what do you see?
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See complete translation of I John here.