1 John 3 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
FBV Free Bible Version
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
PT1904 Patriarchal Text 1904 (accented, eBible edition)
1 Look at the amazing kind of love the Father has for us! This is why we can be called God's children—for that's who we are! The reason why the people of this world don't recognize us as God's children is because they don't recognize him.
1 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
1 Ἴδετε ποταπὴν ἀγάπην δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ἵνα τέκνα Θεοῦ κληθῶμεν. διὰ τοῦτο ὁ κόσμος οὐ γινώσκει ὑμᾶς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτόν.
2 My friends, we are already God's children; however what we shall become hasn't been revealed just yet. But we do know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him just as he is.
2 Ἀγαπητοί, νῦν τέκνα Θεοῦ ἐσμεν, καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα· οἴδαμεν δὲ ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστι.
3 All those who have this hope in them make sure they are pure, just as he is pure.
3 Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
3 καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἔχων τὴν ἐλπίδα ταύτην ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ ἁγνίζει ἑαυτόν, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστι.
4 All those who sin are lawless, because sin is lawlessness.
4 Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.
4 Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία.
5 But of course you know that Jesus came to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him.
5 You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and no sin is in him.
5 καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἄρῃ, καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστι.
6 All those who live in him don't go on sinning; all those who keep on sinning haven't seen him and haven't known him.
6 Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him.
6 πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν.
7 Dear friends, don't let anyone fool you: those who do what is right are right, in the same way as Jesus is right.
7 Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
7 Τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστι, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν·
8 Those who sin are of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. That's the reason why the Son of God came—to destroy what the devil has done.
8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
8 ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν, ὅτι ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει. εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου.
9 All those who are born of God don't keep on sinning, for God's nature lives in them. They can't keep on sinning because they are born of God.
9 Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he can’t sin, because he is born of God.
9 Πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει· καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
10 This is how God's children and the devil's children can be distinguished: all those who don't do what's right don't belong to God, nor do those who don't love their fellow Christians.
10 In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.
10 ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστι τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου. πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφόν αὐτοῦ.
11 The message you've heard from the beginning is simply this: we should love one another.
11 For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another—
11 ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἠκούσατε ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους,
12 We cannot be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one, and murdered his brother. Why did he murder him? Because Cain did what was evil, while his brother did what was right.
12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
12 οὐ καθὼς Κάϊν ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν καὶ ἔσφαξε τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ· καὶ χάριν τίνος ἔσφαξεν αὐτόν; ὅτι τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ πονηρὰ ἦν, τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ δίκαια.
13 So don't be surprised, my friends, if this world hates you!
13 Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.
13 Μὴ θαυμάζετε, ἀδελφοί μου, εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος.
14 The reason we know that we have changed from death to life is because we love our Christian brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love remains dead.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.
14 ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι μεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν, ὅτι ἀγαπῶμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς· ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν μένει ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ.
15 All those who hate their Christian brothers and sisters are murderers, and you know that no murderers have eternal life within them!
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
15 πᾶς ὁ μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστί, καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι πᾶς ἀνθρωποκτόνος οὐκ ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐν ἑαυτῷ μένουσαν.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters.
16 By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
16 ἐν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκε· καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰς ψυχὰς τιθέναι.
17 If one of you is living well in this world and you see your Christian brother or sister in need, but you don't show compassion—how can God's love be living in you?
17 But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?
17 ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ἔχῃ τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου καὶ θεωρῇ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἔχοντα καὶ κλείσῃ τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτοῦ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, πῶς ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει ἐν αὐτῷ;
18 Dear friends, let's not just say we love with words, but show our love in what we do and how we demonstrate the truth.
18 My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.
18 Τεκνία μου, μὴ ἀγαπῶμεν λόγῳ μηδὲ τῇ γλώσσῃ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.
19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth, and how we will set our minds at rest before God
19 And by this we know that we are of the truth and persuade our hearts before him,
19 καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐσμέν, καὶ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πείσομεν τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν,
20 whenever we think we're in the wrong. God is greater than how we think, and he knows everything.
20 because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
20 ὅτι ἐὰν καταγινώσκῃ ἡμῶν ἡ καρδία, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν καὶ γινώσκει πάντα.
21 Dear friends, if we're reassured we're not in the wrong, we can have confidence before God.
21 Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God;
21 ἀγαπητοί, ἐὰν ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν μὴ καταγινώσκῃ ἡμῶν, παρρησίαν ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν,
22 We'll receive from him whatever we ask him for, because we follow his commands and do what pleases him.
22 so whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
22 καὶ ὃ ἐὰν αἰτῶμεν λαμβάνομεν παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηροῦμεν καὶ τὰ ἀρεστὰ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ποιοῦμεν.
23 This is what he commands: we should trust in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us to do.
23 This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.
23 καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα πιστεύσωμεν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους καθὼς ἔδωκεν ἐντολήν.
24 Those who keep his commands continue to live in him, and he lives in them. We know that he lives in us by the Spirit he has given us.
24 He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
24 καὶ ὁ τηρῶν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν αὐτῷ. καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι μένει ἐν ἡμῖν, ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος οὗ ἡμῖν ἔδωκεν.
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 John 1:12; Galatians 3:26; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 4:5–6; John 3:16
- 2 Philippians 3:21; Colossians 3:4; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Psalm 17:15
- 3 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 John 2:6; 2 Peter 3:14; Matthew 5:48; Hebrews 12:14
- 4 1 John 5:17; Romans 3:20; Romans 4:15; Numbers 15:31; 1 John 3:8–9
- 5 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 9:26
- 6 3 John 11; 1 John 2:4; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 4:8; John 15:4–7
- 7 1 John 2:29; Romans 2:13; 1 Peter 1:15–16; 1 John 3:3; 1 John 2:26
- 8 Hebrews 2:14; John 8:44; Colossians 2:15; John 16:11; John 12:31
- 9 1 John 5:18; 1 Peter 1:23; John 1:13; 1 John 5:1; 1 John 2:29
- 10 1 John 4:8; 3 John 11; 1 John 4:21; Matthew 13:38; John 8:44
- 11 John 15:12; 2 John 5; 1 John 4:7; John 13:34–35; 1 Peter 3:8
- 12 Hebrews 11:4; Genesis 4:4–15; Proverbs 29:27; Genesis 4:25; Jude 11
- 13 John 15:18–19; John 17:14; Luke 21:17; 2 Timothy 3:12; Luke 6:22
- 14 1 John 5:2; John 13:35; John 5:24; 1 John 4:20–21; 1 Thessalonians 4:9
- 15 Matthew 5:21–22; Revelation 21:8; Proverbs 26:24–26; John 8:44; Leviticus 19:16–18
- 16 1 John 4:9–11; Ephesians 5:2; John 13:34; John 3:16; Romans 5:8
- 17 Hebrews 13:16; Isaiah 58:7–10; Deuteronomy 15:7–11; 1 John 4:20; Proverbs 19:17
- 18 James 2:15–16; Romans 12:9; 1 Peter 1:22; Galatians 5:13; 1 Corinthians 13:4–7
- 19 Hebrews 10:22; 1 John 3:21; Isaiah 32:17; Hebrews 6:10–11; John 18:37
- 20 Psalm 139:1–4; Jeremiah 17:10; Hebrews 4:13; 1 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 4:4
- 21 1 John 2:28; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Psalm 101:2; Psalm 7:3–5
- 22 John 15:7; John 9:31; Matthew 21:22; 1 John 5:14; Mark 11:24
- 23 John 6:29; John 13:34; 1 Peter 1:22; John 15:12; 1 Peter 4:8
- 24 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 John 4:15–16; 1 John 4:12–13; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Timothy 1:14
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Hear intently, I do beseech you, because it is no small matter that we have to cope withal: and I doubt not, because ye were intent upon it yesterday, that ye have with even greater intentness of purpose come together to-day.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)
… ever, which now appeareth unto us in the dark image of the clouds, and through the glass of the heavens, not as it is; because we also, although we be the well-beloved of Thy Son, yet it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. He looketh through the lattice of our flesh, and He is fair-speaking, and hath inflamed …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
The devil then is the first author of sin, and the father of the wicked: and this is the Lord's saying, not mine, that the devil sinneth from the beginning: none sinned before him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
"He that soweth to the spirit," it is said, "shall of the spirit reap life everlasting." John too writes, "Hereby we know that he abideth in us by (ek) the spirit which he hath given us." "That which is conceived in her," says the angel, "is of the Holy Ghost," and the Lord says "that which is born of the …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)
… eluded; and he who will not piously submit himself to things as they are, proudly feigns, and mocks himself with a state of things that does not exist; so that what the blessed Apostle John says thus becomes intelligible: "The devil sinneth from the beginning," --that is, from the time he was created he refused righteousness, which none but a …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)