1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life;
1:2 (For the life was revealed, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us;)
1:3 That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1:4 And these things we write to you, that our joy may be complete.
1:5 This then is the message which we have heard from him, and declare to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, yet walk in darkness, we lie, and do not practice the truth:
1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if any man does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2:2 And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
2:3 And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
2:4 He who says, I know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
2:5 But whoever keeps his word, in him is the love of God truly perfected. By this we know that we are in him:
2:6 He who says he abides in him ought also to walk as he walked.
2:7 Brethren, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard.
2:8 Yet, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you: because the darkness is passing away, and the true light now shines.
2:9 He who says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is in darkness even until now.
2:10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
2:11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
2:12 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
2:13 I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.
2:14 I have written to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
2:17 And the world passes away, along with its lusts: but he who does the will of God abides forever.
2:18 Little children, it is the last hour: and as you have heard that the antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; by this we know that it is the last hour.
2:19 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, that it might be made clear that none of them were of us.
2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know the truth.
2:21 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.
2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.
2:23 Whoever denies the Son, does not have the Father: he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
2:24 As for you, let that abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall abide in you, you shall also abide in the Son, and in the Father.
2:25 And this is the promise which he himself has given us: eternal life.
2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who would deceive you.
2:27 But the anointing which you have received from him abides in you, and you do not need any man to teach you: but his anointing teaches you all things, and is true, and is no lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him.
2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
2:29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that every one who does right has been born of him.
3:1 Behold, how great is the love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; and so we are. The world does not know us, because it did not know him.
3:2 Beloved, now we are the sons of God; and what we shall be has not yet been disclosed: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
3:3 And every man who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
3:4 Whoever commits sin practices lawlessness: for sin is lawlessness.
3:5 And you know that he was revealed to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
3:6 Whoever abides in him does not sin: no one who sins has either seen him or known him.
3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he who does right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
3:8 He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
3:9 No one who is born of God practices sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
3:10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
3:12 Do not be like Cain, who was of the wicked one, and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's were righteous.
3:13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.
3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
3:16 By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
3:17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in speech; but in deed and in truth.
3:19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him,
3:20 Whenever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, then we have confidence toward God;
3:22 And whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he commanded us.
3:24 And he who keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.
4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God: because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God:
4:3 And every spirit that does not confess [that] Jesus [Christ has come in the flesh], is not of God: this is the spirit of antichrist, of which you have heard that it was coming; and now is already in the world.
4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world.
4:5 They are of the world: therefore what they speak is of the world, and the world hears them.
4:6 We are of God: he who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and every one who loves is born of God, and knows God.
4:8 He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.
4:9 In this was the love of God revealed among us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
4:12 No man has seen God at any time, but if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.
4:13 By this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
4:15 Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love; and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
4:17 In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so we are in this world.
4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has to do with punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.
4:19 We love [him], because he first loved us.
4:20 If a man 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 whom he has not seen.
4:21 And this commandment we have from him, That he who loves God must also love his brother.
5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one who loves the parent also loves the child.
5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome.
5:4 For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.
5:5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
5:6 This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood.
5:7 And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.
5:8 For there are three who bear witness [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth], the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree.
5:9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for it is the testimony of God, which he has given regarding his Son.
5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself: he who does not believe God has made him a liar; because he does not believe the testimony that God has given regarding his Son.
5:11 And this is the testimony, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life.
5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
5:15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have that which we have requested of him.
5:16 If any man sees his brother commit a sin which does not lead to death, he shall ask, and God shall grant him life, for those whose sin is not to death. There is a sin to death: I do not say that he should pray for that.
5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin that does not lead to death.
5:18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who was begotten of God keeps him, and the wicked one does not touch him.
5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies under the power of the wicked one.
5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, 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 eternal life.
5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. [Amen.]