| This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare 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 that we have fellowship with Him, and 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 Christ 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. |
| And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for 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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of 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, and the lust of it; but he who 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 either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. | No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. |
| Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also 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 which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will 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, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before 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. |
| Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, 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, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, 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. |
| Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. | Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. |
| He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might 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 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, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the 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. |
| But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does 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? |
| My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, 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 toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. | 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. |
| Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He 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. |
