| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. | 1See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. |
| 2Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. | 2Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. |
| 3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. | 3And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. |
| 4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. | 4Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. |
| 5You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. | 5And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. |
| 6No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. | 6Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. |
| 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. | 7Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. |
| 8Whoever 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 to destroy the works of the devil. | 8But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. |
| 9No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. | 9Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. |
| 10By 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, nor is the one who does not love his brother. | 10So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. Love One Another |
| 11For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. | 11This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. |
| 12We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. | 12We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. |
| 13Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. | 13So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. |
| 14We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. | 14If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. |
| 15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. | 15Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. |
| 16By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. | 16We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. |
| 17But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? | 17If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? |
| 18Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. | 18Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. |
| 19By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; | 19Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. |
| 20for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. | 20Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. |
| 21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; | 21Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. |
| 22and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. | 22And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. |
| 23And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. | 23And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. |
| 24Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. | 24Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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