| This is the message that we have heard from him and that we declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. | 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 claim that we have fellowship with him while we continue to live in darkness, we are lying and do not live in 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. |
| However, if we live in the light as he himself is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son purifies 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. |
| However, if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all wrongdoing. | If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. |
| He is himself the sacrifice for our sins— and not only for our sins 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 what is in the world. If anyone does love 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 everything that is in the world— the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life— comes not from the Father but 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 with all its enticements is passing away, 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. |
| Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever acknowledges 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 remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain 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 as for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and therefore you do not need anyone to teach you. This same anointing teaches you everything and is true and not false, so abide in him just as he taught you. | 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, dear children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him 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 love the Father has bestowed on us, enabling us to be called the children of God, and that is what we are. If the world does not recognize us, that is because 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. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. However, we do know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he really is. Everyone who has this hope in him keeps himself pure, just 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 sins breaks the law, for sin is lawlessness. | Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. |
| Everyone who sins comes from the devil, for the devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very purpose: to destroy the work 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 from the beginning you have heard the message that we should love one another. | For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. |
| This is how we know what love is: he laid down his life for us, and we in turn must be prepared to lay down our lives for our brethren. | 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. |
| If anyone is rich in worldly possessions and sees a brother in need but refuses to open his heart, how can the love of God 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? |
| Dear children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. | Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. |
| Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we can approach God with confidence and receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do whatever is pleasing to 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. |
| All those who keep his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And the proof that he abides in us is the Spirit that 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. |
Bible verse of the day
See what lovethe Father has bestowed on us,
enabling us to be called the children of God,
and that is what we are.
If the world does not recognize us,
that is because it did not know him.