The Word of Life

1 ^aThat which was ^bfrom the beginning, ^cwhich we have heard, ^dwhich we have seen with our eyes, ^ewhich we looked upon and ^fhave touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 ^gthe life ^hwas made manifest, and we have seen it, and ⁱtestify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, ^awhich was with the Father and ^hwas made manifest to us— 3 ^cthat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed ^jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so ^kthat our¹ joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light

5 ^lThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that ^mGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 ⁿIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and ^odo not practice the truth. 7 But ^pif we walk in the light, ^qas he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^rthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 ^sIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and ^tthe truth is not in us. 9 ^uIf we confess our sins, he is ^vfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and ^rto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, ^wwe make him a liar, and ^xhis word is not in us.

Christ Our Advocate

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ^ywe have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 ^zHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^aalso for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^bkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments ^cis a liar, and ^cthe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever ^dkeeps his word, in him truly ^ethe love of God is perfected. ^fBy this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he ^gabides in him ^hought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Beloved, I am writing you ⁱno new commandment, but ^jan old commandment ^kthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is ^la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because^{2 m}the darkness is passing away and ⁿthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ^ohates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him³ there is no ^pcause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^qwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Do Not Love the World

15 ^vDo not love the world or 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—^xthe desires of the flesh and ^ythe desires of the eyes and pride of life⁴—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And ^zthe world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

18 Children, ^ait is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^bantichrist is coming, so now ^cmany antichrists have come. ^dTherefore we know that 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, ^gthat it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been ^hanointed by ⁱthe Holy One, and ^jyou all have knowledge.⁵ 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but ^khe who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^bthe antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 ^lNo one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let ^mwhat you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ⁿyou too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us⁶—^oeternal life.

26 I write these things to you about ^pthose who are trying to deceive you. 27 But ^qthe anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^ryou have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^sis true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^twhen he appears ^uwe may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^vcoming. 29 If you know that ^whe is righteous, you may be sure that ^xeveryone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

1 See ^ywhat kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^zchildren of God; and so we are. The reason why ^athe world does not know us is that ^bit did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are ^zGod’s children ^cnow, and what we will be ^dhas not yet appeared; but we know that ^ewhen he appears^{7 f}we shall be like him, because ^gwe shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who ^hthus hopes in him ⁱpurifies himself as he is pure.

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^jsin is lawlessness. 5 You know that ^khe appeared in order to ^ltake away sins, and ^min him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ⁿno one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, ^olet no one deceive you. ^pWhoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 ^qWhoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^rto destroy the works of the devil. 9 ^sNo one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s⁸ seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^tnor is the one who ^udoes not love his brother.

Love One Another

11 For ^vthis is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^wthat we should love one another. 12 We should not be like ^xCain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^yBecause his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,^{9 z}that the world hates you. 14 We know that ^awe have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 ^bEveryone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^cno murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that ^dhe laid down his life for us, and ^ewe ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But ^fif anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^gcloses his heart against him, ^hhow does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not ⁱlove in word or talk but in deed and ^jin truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, ^kif our heart does not condemn us, ^lwe have confidence before God; 22 and ^mwhatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ⁿdo what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, ^othat we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^plove one another, ^qjust as he has commanded us. 24 ^rWhoever keeps his commandments abides in God,¹⁰ and God¹¹ in him. And ^sby this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Test the Spirits

1 Beloved, ^tdo not believe every spirit, but ^utest the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^vmany ^wfalse prophets ^xhave gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: ^yevery spirit that confesses that ^zJesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit ^athat does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^bnow is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^che who is in you is greater than ^dhe who is in the world. 5 ^eThey are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^fthe world listens to them. 6 We are from God. ^gWhoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^hthe Spirit of truth and ⁱthe spirit of error.

God Is Love

7 Beloved, ^jlet us love one another, for love is from God, and ^kwhoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 ^lAnyone who does not love does not know God, because ^mGod is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ⁿGod sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, ^onot that we have loved God ⁿbut that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^pthe propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 ^qNo one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^rhis love is perfected in us.

13 ^sBy this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And ^twe have seen and testify that ^uthe Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^vthe world. 15 ^wWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So ^xwe have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^yGod is love, and ^zwhoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this ^ais love perfected with us, so that ^bwe may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^cas he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but ^dperfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^abeen perfected in love. 19 ^eWe love because he first loved us. 20 ^fIf anyone says, “I love God,” and ^ghates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot¹² love God ^hwhom he has not seen. 21 And ⁱthis commandment we have from him: ^jwhoever loves God must also love his brother.

Overcoming the World

1 ^kEveryone who believes that ^lJesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^meveryone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 ⁿBy this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For ^othis is the love of God, that we ^pkeep his commandments. And ^qhis commandments are not burdensome. 4 For ^reveryone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^sour faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes ^tthat Jesus is the Son of God?

Testimony Concerning the Son of God

6 This is he who came ^uby water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And ^vthe Spirit is the one who testifies, because ^wthe Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 ^xIf we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God ^ythat he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God ^zhas the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God ^ahas made him a liar, ^bbecause he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us ^ceternal life, and ^dthis life is in his Son. 12 ^eWhoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

That You May Know

13 I write ^fthese things to you who ^gbelieve in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is ^hthe confidence that we have toward him, that ⁱif we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and ^jGod¹³ will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. ^kThere is sin that leads to death; ^lI do not say that one should pray for that. 17 ^mAll wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

18 We know that ⁿeveryone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but ^ohe who was born of God ^pprotects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

19 We know that we are from God, and ^qthe whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and ^rhas given us understanding, so that we may know ^shim who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and ^teternal life. 21 Little children, ^ukeep yourselves from idols.

Greeting

1 ^aThe elder to the elect lady and her children, ^bwhom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^cknow ^dthe truth, 2 ^ebecause of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 ^fGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

4 ^gI rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—^hnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—ⁱthat we love one another. 6 And ^jthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just ^kas you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For ^lmany deceivers ^mhave gone out into the world, ⁿthose who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, ^oso that you may not lose what we¹ have worked for, but ^pmay win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, ^qdoes not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching ^qhas both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^rdo not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him ^stakes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

12 ^tThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. ^uInstead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, ^vso that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you.

Greeting

1 ^aThe elder to the beloved Gaius, ^bwhom I love in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For ^cI rejoiced greatly when the brothers¹ came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that ^dmy children are walking in the truth.

Support and Opposition

5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for ^ethese brothers, ^fstrangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner ^gworthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of ^hthe name, ⁱaccepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

11 Beloved, ^jdo not imitate evil but imitate good. ^kWhoever does good is from God; ^lwhoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius ^mhas received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and ⁿyou know that our testimony is true.

Final Greetings

13 ^oI had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, ^peach by name.