1:4a

these things: (Alternative Interpretations) There are two opinions about what the words these things refer to here:

(1) It probably refers to what John has said in verses 1–3.

(2) Some think it refers to the rest of the letter.

1:4b

so that our joy may be complete: (Logical Relationship) John’s purpose in writing is not primarily to make himself joyful. He is writing so that his readers will learn about true fellowship and have fellowship with him. If they do, that is what will cause him to be joyful. If this is not clear in translation some of this information should be made explicit.

our joy: (Text) The King James Version “your joy” is from an inferior Greek text. The other versions have “our joy.”

our: (Alternative Interpretations) There are two interpretations of this word here:

(1) It is probably inclusive, meaning “(joy) of you and us apostles.”

(2) Some think it is exclusive, meaning “(joy) of us apostles.”

complete: (Meaning) This means “as great as it can be,” “without any sadness or anything to spoil it.”

© 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.