SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 John 2000 – Page 3

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:22

3:22a

and we will receive: (Logical Relationship) This is a second, and more important, consequence of the fact that God does not condemn us as sinners when we pray to him.

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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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:21

Paragraph 3:21–24

Read 3:21–24 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: Here John repeats the main theme of this section, saying that we must obey God’s commands to believe in Jesus and love each other.

3:21 (Alternative Interpretations)

There are two interpretations of how this verse is related to 3:19–20:

(1) This verse is probably describing the situation when our hearts do not condemn us, in contrast with the situation mentioned in 3:20. In this case the verses may be linked with a word like “But” (see Living Bible), or have no linking word.

(2) Some think this verse is referring to the situation which results when we have “assured our hearts” (see 3:19). In that case the verses would be linked with “And so” (see Good News Translation).

3:21a

our hearts do not condemn us: (Meaning) See the note on 3:20.

3:21b

we have confidence before God: (Meaning) This particularly refers to not being afraid of speaking freely to God.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:20

3:20a

our hearts condemn us: (Meaning) John is talking about how in such circumstances we are especially aware of our sins and our unworthiness before God. He is not referring to times when the Holy Spirit reminds us about specific sins which we need to repent of.

3:20b

greater than: (Lexical Problem) The Greek word does not specify in what sense God is greater than us or our hearts, but the end of this verse makes it clear that John is talking about God’s greater knowledge.

than our hearts: (Metaphor) This is referring to our thoughts, so the basic meaning here is “God knows much more than we know.”

3:20c

He knows all things: (Meaning) This specifically refers to God knowing all that we do.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:19

Paragraph 3:19–20

Read 3:19–20 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: If we love one another we will not be ashamed before God when we are praying to him.

3:19a

this: (Pronoun Reference) The word this refers back to what John has said in the previous verse about loving each other truly. To make this clear in translation it may be necessary to restate it here.

we will know: (Tense) As the Berean Standard Bible indicates in English, the tense in the Greek is future, probably because John is saying that we will know that we belong to the truth if we put 3:18 into practice.

3:19b

we belong to the truth: (Meaning) The basic meaning of truth in John’s writings is “everything which is in accordance with God’s character.” This is because God is the real standard of what is true and right. So when John says we belong to the truth, he means that we belong to God and we are living according to his will.

3:19c

in His presence: (Meaning) John is referring to when we are praying or when we think about God and remember that we are in his presence.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:18

3:18 (Logical Relationship)

Since this verse gives the main point of John’s argument, based on 3:16–17, it may be necessary in translation to make this clear.

3:18a

let us love not in: (Meaning) In translation it is important to avoid implying here that we should never say we love someone. John certainly assumes that we say we love people, but he is here warning that we should not only say we love people, we should also do things to help them.

love: (Lexical Problem) John is referring to loving our brothers or each other, and this can be made explicit in translation if it is necessary for the verb love to have an object.

speech: (Metaphor) The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as speech is more literally “tongue.” This is a metaphorical way of referring to speech.

3:18b

and truth: (Meaning) If we actually help one another our love will be true love in accordance with God’s truth.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:17

3:17a

If anyone: (Parenthesis) John interrupts his argument to give, as a warning, an example of a Christian who does not truly love his fellow Christian.

with earthly possessions: (Meaning) This refers to food, clothes, housing and the means of earning a living. It means having enough to live with (see New English Bible, Living Bible).It does not mean that he is rich.

3:17c

but withholds his compassion from him: (Meaning) This refers to both the person’s attitude and his actions. His brother’s problems do not interest or affect him and he does nothing to help his brother.

3:17d

how can the love of God abide in him?: (Rhetorical Question) The rhetorical question is used here in order to emphasize the fact that it is in no way possible for such a person to have the love of God, even if he claims to have it.

the love of God: (Alternative Interpretations) There is a lot of disagreement about the meaning of this phrase:

(1) The sentence probably means, “He cannot claim that God is causing him to love people,” (New English Bible, Revised Standard Version, Living Bible) since John’s theme here is the love we show to people.

(2) Others think it means, “He cannot claim that he loves God.” (Good News Translation)

(3) Others think it means, “He cannot claim that he loves people in the same way that God loves people.”

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SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:16

Paragraph 3:16–18

Read 3:16–18 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: John here emphasizes the theme of love, which he introduced in 3:11. He is showing that love involves helping each other.

3:16a

By this: (Pronoun Reference) The words By this refer to the words Jesus laid down His life for us in the second part of this sentence. John is saying that Jesus has showed us that loving someone means we should be willing to do anything for them; we should even be willing to die for them.

love: (Emphasis) It may be necessary to give emphasis to love here in order to show that in this and the next two verses, John is demonstrating what love really involves.

laid down His life: (Metaphor) The topic of this metaphor is that Christ was willing to treat life like a piece of clothing which a person might take off and lay aside. If there is no suitable metaphor to replace this in your language, you can just say that Christ willingly died for us.

3:16b

and we: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different interpretations of the relationship between this sentence and the previous one:

(1) John is probably saying that our duty to be willing to even die for our brothers is a second reason for his teaching in 3:18 that we should be loving our brothers in practical ways even now.

(2) Good News Translation and Living Bible translate 3:16b as a conclusion drawn from the fact that Jesus was willing to die for us.

we ought to lay down our lives: (Meaning) John is not saying that we should go and seek ways of being killed. He is reminding us that if we are ever able to save our brothers’ lives by our own death then we should not refuse to die.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:15

3:15a

his brother: (Multiple Senses) This is used here in a slightly different sense to the way it was used in 3:14b. Here in 3:15a it means “his fellows” or “other people.”

is a murderer: (Meaning) John is teaching his readers that God considers hatred to be the same as murder.

3:15b

you know that: (Focus) The main point of 3:15b is that murderers do not have eternal life. The phrase you know that merely gives emphasis to this, so it may be translated as a parenthesis, or by some word which marks emphasis. See The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible.

eternal life does not reside: (Meaning) John is not saying that a murderer cannot have eternal life. Rather he is saying that a person who murders is clearly not living the sort of life which God gives us, which we call “eternal.”

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:22

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:21

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:20

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:19

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:18

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:17

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:16

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 3:15

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