SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 5:7

5:7

three that testify: (Lexical Problem) John means that there are three things which show us the truth about Jesus. However, in your language it may not be possible to refer to the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ baptism and his death with one general term like “things.” See the Display for 5:7–8 for a suggested solution to this problem.

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 5:6

Paragraph 5:6–9

Read 5:6–9 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: In 5:5 John has talked about believing that Jesus is the Son of God. In 5:6–9 he explains why we should believe in Jesus as the son of God.

5:6a

This: (Pronoun Reference) The word This refers to “Jesus Christ.” In translation it may be clearer to put the name at the beginning of the sentence (see Good News Translation), or to indicate in some other way that the name “Jesus Christ” is in focus here.

the One who came: (Meaning) John is not contrasting Jesus with someone else. He is emphasizing two important points about Jesus’ ministry on earth which those who believe in him (see 5:5) must accept.

by water and blood: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different views about what events in Jesus’ ministry John is referring to by these figures of speech:

(1) He is probably emphasizing that Jesus Christ, who came from heaven, was baptized in water to identify himself with us human beings and shed his blood when he died to save us. In your translation, you will probably need to make clear that water is a figure of speech for Jesus’ baptism, and blood is a figure of speech for his death. See Good News Translation.

(2) Some think John is referring to the fact that Jesus gave us the sacraments of baptism (water) and communion (blood) to remind us of what he has done for us.

(3) Some think this is a reference to the water and blood which came out of Jesus’ body on the cross (John 19:34), proving that he had really died.

5:6b–c

not by water alone, but by water and blood: (Meaning) Here John is denying the teaching of various false teachers who claimed that Jesus was just a man who became Son of God when he was baptized and ceased to be Son of God before he was crucified. That is why John emphasizes here that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not only was baptized but also died.

5:6d

testifies to this: (Lexical Problem) John does not specify here what the Holy Spirit testifies about. However the following verses make it clear that he is referring to the truth about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Good News Translation makes this reference more explicit. The Holy Spirit testifies to this fact in the hearts or minds of believers.

5:6e

is the truth: (Meaning) For the basic meaning of “truth” see the note on 3:19b “we belong to the truth.” Here John means that the Holy Spirit is the one who shows us the whole of God’s nature and his deeds.

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 5:5

5:5a

Who then overcomes the world?: (Rhetorical Question) This rhetorical question is used to emphasize the statement in the second half of the verse that no one can overcome the world except those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

5:5b

he who believes: (Pronoun Reference) This means “anyone who believes” or “all who believe.”

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 5:4

5:4a

born of God: (Meaning) See the note on 5:1b.

overcomes the world: (Metaphor) With this metaphor John is saying that Christians can successfully resist the temptation to follow the ways of this world. And normally this is what they do. Therefore nothing can force us to disobey God. He is not saying that we have actually defeated the people of this world in some fight.

the world: (Multiple Senses) In this verse the world means the evil ways of human beings and everything in the world that is opposed to God.

5:4b

victory that has overcome: (Lexical Problem) This is a figure of speech meaning “the thing which has enabled us to overcome.”

our faith: (Emphasis) John is here emphasizing that it is through our continuing to trust God that we are able to overcome the world.

faith: (Biblical Term) The next verse makes clear that here faith refers to believing in Jesus as God’s Son.

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 5:3

5:3a–b

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: (Meaning) John means that true love for God always involves obeying his commands. It is impossible to love God while at the same time disobeying him.

5:3a

For: (Logical Relationship) In the Greek the connecting word here shows that this statement (5:3a–b) explains why in the last verse John linked obeying God with loving God.

5:3c

His commandments are not burdensome: (Metaphor) John’s meaning is that God’s commands are not difficult for us to obey. In the next verse he gives the reason why it is not hard for us to obey God.

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 5:2

5:2a

By this: (Alternative Interpretations) There are two views as to what the word this refers to:

(1) It is probably giving emphasis to the second half of the verse.

(2) Some think it refers back to the idea in 5:1 that whenever we love someone we also love their children. (New English Bible)

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 4:21

4:21a

And: (Logical Relationship) This verse says that another reason why we must love other Christians is that God has commanded it.

we have this commandment from Him: (Alternative Interpretations) There are two interpretations of who the pronoun Him refers to here:

(1) It probably refers to God. (Living Bible)

(2) Some think it refers to Christ. (Good News Translation, New English Bible)

(1) Probably John is making his point here indirectly by stating a generally well known truth, that those who love someone love that person’s children also. (New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, New English Bible, Revised Standard Version)

(2) It may be that John is directly saying that those who love our father God also love God’s children. (Berean Standard Bible, The Jerusalem Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible)

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 John 4:20

4:20a

says, “I love God”: (Speech Quotation) This is not the quotation of what someone actually said. It is an example of what someone might say. Therefore in translation it is important to consider whether it should be in direct speech or in indirect speech. See Good News Translation and the Display.

4:20b

but hates his brother: (Multiple Senses) As in 2:9b, this means treating fellow Christians in a bad way, without love. See the notes on 2:9b.

4:20c

he is a liar: (Meaning) In other words, he does not really love God. He is deceiving people when he says he loves God.

4:20d

For: (Logical Relationship) This conjunction shows that the rest of the verse explains how we know that such a person is a liar.

his brother, whom he has seen: (Meaning) This is not referring to a specific brother. John is giving a general example, saying that our fellow Christians are people we see all the time, whereas God cannot be seen at all.

cannot love God: (Meaning) John is saying that if we do not love our brothers, it is impossible for us to truly claim to be loving God. Since this is a strong negative statement, it may be expressed in some languages as a rhetorical question. See Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible.

© 2000 by SIL International®

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.