| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. | 1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. |
| 2He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. | 2He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. |
| 3And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. | 3By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. |
| 4If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. | 4If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. |
| 5But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. | 5But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: |
| 6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. A New Commandment | 6Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked. |
| 7Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. | 7Beloved, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard. |
| 8Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. | 8Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining. |
| 9If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. | 9If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. |
| 10Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. | 10Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. |
| 11But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. | 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. |
| 12I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus. | 12I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name. |
| 13I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one. | 13I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. |
| 14I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. Do Not Love This World | 14I have written to you, fathers, because you know 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 evil one. |
| 15Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. | 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. |
| 16For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. | 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. |
| 17And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. Warning about Antichrists | 17The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. |
| 18Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. | 18Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. |
| 19These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. | 19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us. |
| 20But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. | 20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. |
| 21So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. | 21I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth. |
| 22And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. | 22Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. |
| 23Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. | 23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. |
| 24So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. | 24As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. |
| 25And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. | 25And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life. |
| 26I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. | 26I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. |
| 27But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. Living as Children of God | 27And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught. |
| 28And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. | 28And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. |
| 29Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. | 29If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him. |
|
