| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. | 1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. |
| 2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, | 2This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. |
| 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. | 3But every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now. |
| 4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. | 4You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. |
| 5They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. | 5They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. |
| 6We 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. | 6We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception. |
| 7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. | 7Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. |
| 8He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. | 8The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. |
| 9In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. | 9God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. |
| 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. | 10Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. |
| 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. | 11Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. |
| 12No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. | 12No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us. |
| 13By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. | 13This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit. |
| 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. | 14And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent His Son as the world's Savior. |
| 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. | 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God--God remains in him and he in God. |
| 16And 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. | 16And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. |
| 17Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. | 17In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, for we are as He is in this world. |
| 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. | 18There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. |
| 19We love Him because He first loved us. | 19We love because He first loved us. |
| 20If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? | 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen. |
| 21And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. | 21And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must also love his brother. |
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