1:3a

We proclaim…: (Theme) This verse is the main point of the paragraph 1–4. John repeats what he is telling his readers in order to emphasize his purpose in telling it to them, namely that he and they may be united in fellowship. In order to make this emphasis clear in translation it may be necessary to say

The reason why we are telling you (plur) about this person who we have seen and heard is that we want you to be united with us in trusting him.

what we have seen: (Pronoun Reference) John is still referring to Jesus as the “Word of life” (see the note on 1:1). That is why the form what is used here in English, rather than “who.” In your translation you should make it clear that this whole passage is about Jesus.

1:3b

so that: (Logical Relationship) John is saying that he is telling his readers about Jesus so that they may believe the same things about Jesus as he does and thus they may have fellowship with him and the apostles. These steps in the argument may need to be made clear in translation.

also: (Emphasis) The word translated also occurs twice in the Greek, “we proclaim to you also” and “so that you also may have fellowship with us.” John is emphasizing that both the gospel and fellowship are not only for the apostles but for his readers also.

may have fellowship with us: (Meaning) John means that his readers should continue to have fellowship with him. He is not implying that they need to become Christians so that they will have fellowship. Throughout this letter he repeatedly states that he is confident that they already believe in Jesus.

fellowship: (Special Biblical Term) This term means being united, sharing in something on the basis of mutual agreement, especially in God’s blessings. That is why John uses it here to refer both to our fellowship with one another and to our fellowship with God.

1:3c

this fellowship of ours: (Alternative Interpretations) There are two interpretations of ours here:

(1) It is probably exclusive, meaning “(fellowship) of us apostles.”

(2) Some think it is inclusive, meaning “(fellowship) of you together with us apostles.”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

1:2 (Parenthesis)

This verse is a comment about the Word of life, which John has just mentioned. In the next verse (1:3) he continues what he has been saying about the subject of his letter.

1:2a

And this is the life: (Meaning) This also refers to Jesus. See the note on 1:1 “Word of life” above.

was revealed: (Alternative Interpretations) Two interpretations of the form of the Greek verb are possible here:

(1) It probably means “he was revealed (by God),” “God caused him to become a human being, who people could see.” (Berean Standard Bible, The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, King James Version, Revised Standard Version, Living Bible)

(2) Some think it means “he appeared,” “he became visible.” (New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

1:2c

testified: (Meaning) This means to tell or confirm the truth about something which one has personally experienced or seen.

1:2d

proclaim: (Meaning) This means to testify to something openly or publicly.

the eternal life: (Special Biblical Term) This is a biblical term which describes the type of life which God has and which he gives to us. It refers to both the length of that life and to its quality. It means life which is never-ending and which is heavenly rather than earthly. In this verse it refers to Jesus, just as “the life” does at the beginning of the verse. It is emphasizing that the life which Jesus brings us has always existed in heaven.

1:2e

with the Father: (Meaning) This is very similar to John 1:1 “the Word was with God.” It means that God and the Word (the Life) never existed separately, they were always together.

Father: (Expression) If it is necessary to specify whose father this is, say “our Father” here.

1:2f

was revealed to us: (Alternative Interpretations) See the note on 1:2a “revealed.” The same two interpretations are found here.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

2:29a

If: (Multiple Senses) This does not express doubt. It indicates that the statement “you know that He is righteous” is the reason for what John says in 2:29b. It may be better translated “since” or “because.” Alternatively, the sentence may be translated:

“You know that he is righteous, therefore/so you should recognize that…”

See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

He is righteous: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different views about who the pronoun He refers to:

(1) It probably refers to Christ. (Good News Translation)

(2) It may refer to God. (The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

righteous: (Multiple Senses) This means that everything that Christ does is right in God’s sight.

2:29b

everyone who: (Meaning) John is concerned in this section with the importance of Christians doing what is right. So when he refers to “everyone” here he means “every Christian.” He is not saying that just anybody, even a non-Christian, who does what is right is born of God. He is saying that when Christians do right this shows us that we are God’s children.

righteousness: (Biblical Term) The Greek word used here refers to everything that is in accordance with God’s will.

born of Him: (Pronoun Reference) This certainly means that such a person is the child of God, not of Christ. But this may not be clear unless “God” is made explicit here. See Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

(1) John is writing here about our relationship to God, so it probably means that the people did not know or believe in God.

(2) Some think it means that the people did not recognize who Christ was. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

3:12 (Logical Relationship)

John illustrates the command to love one’s brother by using Cain as a contrasting example (from Genesis 4). Cain did not love his brother and his deeds were evil. Read Genesis 4:1–16 before translating this verse.

3:12a

Cain: (New Participant) Cain has not been mentioned previously in this letter, so you may need to be careful how you refer to him in your translation. He was someone who lived a very long time before John and his readers, but they all knew about him.

3:12b

belonged to the evil one: (Meaning) See the note on 3:8a “is of the devil.” The meaning is the same here.

the evil one: (Meaning) As in 2:13e, this refers to Satan. See the note on 2:13e.

3:12c

brother: (Lexical Problem) This refers to Abel, who was Cain’s younger brother.

3:12d

And why did Cain slay him?: (Rhetorical Question) This is a rhetorical question used to emphasize the fact that the reason Cain committed murder was because he continually did evil. This showed that he belonged to Satan. If rhetorical questions are not used in this way in your language it will be necessary to use an emphatic statement. See The Jerusalem Bible.

3:12e

his own deeds: (Meaning) This probably refers to Cain’s whole way of life, not just the fact that he made an offering of grain to God instead of an animal sacrifice.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 3:11–12

Read 3:11–12 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: These verses link what John has just said about living pure lives to what he is going to say in 3:13–18 about the importance of loving one another.

3:11a

(Revised Standard Version) For: (Logical Relationship) Although John is moving on to a new topic, Christian love, this verse is closely tied to the last one. In the Greek, verse 11 starts with “Because/For,” as it gives the reason why we know that anyone who does not love his fellow Christians cannot be a child of God. When translating this verse, it will be necessary to consider whether a linking word is needed in order to make this connection to verse 10 clear (as in New English Bible, Revised Standard Version, King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible) or whether the new unit (3:11–12) requires that there be no linking word (as in Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation).

the message…beginning: (Meaning) This means that the command to love one another was a main point in the Christian instruction which they received when they first became believers.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

3:10a

By this: (Pronoun Reference) The words By this are referring to 3:10b–c.

children of the devil: (Meaning) This means the same as the phrase “is of the devil” in 3:8a.

3:10c

nor is anyone: (Ellipsis) The full meaning of this is that also the people who do not love their fellow Christians are not the children of God.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

3:9a

born of God: (Meaning) As in 2:29b, this means being a child of God. See Good News Translation, New English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible.

practice sin: (Alternative Interpretations) See the note on “keeps on sinning” on 3:6a. The meaning is the same here.

3:9b

God’s seed abides in him: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different interpretations of the topic of this metaphor God’s seed and different interpretations of who him refers to:

(1) It is generally thought to mean that something of God’s nature or God’s life is in God’s children. (Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) It may mean that God’s children remain in God. (Revised Standard Version footnote)

3:9c–d

he cannot…born of God: (Logical Relationship) The second half of the verse (3:9c–d) is restating the same point as the first half (3:9a–b) in slightly stronger words. The link may need to be made clear in translation. See also Good News Translation.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

3:8a

The one who practices sin: (Tense) This is the same as “who practices sin” in 3:4. The tense shows that it is referring to continual or habitual sinning. See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

is of the devil: (Meaning) This means that such a person is under the control of the devil and shares his nature. This is sometimes expressed in translation as “is a child of the devil.” (New English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

3:8b

because: (Logical Relationship) John is saying that we know the devil has always been sinning, and therefore we know that anyone who continually sins must belong to him. He is not saying that if a person keeps sinning this makes him a child of the devil.

from the very start: (Meaning) This is the same Greek phrase as was used in 1:1 and 2:13, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as “from the beginning” in each of those verses. Here, the phrase means the same thing as in each of those verses. It refers to the beginning of the world.

3:8c

This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil: (Parenthesis) This sentence is a comment on the devil’s sinful activities which have just been mentioned. It interrupts John’s teaching about the two types of people, sinful and righteous, which continues in the next two verses.

was revealed: (Meaning) See the note “Christ appeared” on 3:5a.

destroy the works of the devil: (Meaning) The devil’s work is tempting people to sin and getting control over their lives so that they continue to sin. Christ came to free people from the devil’s control and to defeat his efforts to tempt people. So the devil’s work is in vain.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.