| This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. | This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. |
| If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. | If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. |
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| 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. | 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, purifies us from all sin. |
| If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. | If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. |
| He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. | He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. |
| Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. | Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. |
| For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. | For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. |
| And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. | The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. |
| No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. | No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. |
| Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. | As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. |
| But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. | As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. |
| And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. | And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. |
| See 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. | See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. |
| Beloved, 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. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. | Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. |
| Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. | Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. |
| Whoever 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. | The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. |
| For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. | For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. |
| By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. | This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. |
| But 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? | If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? |
| Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. | Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. |
| Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. | Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. |
| Whoever 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. | The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. |
