Paragraph 5:18–21
Read 5:18–21 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.
Paragraph Theme: Finally John reminds the readers that God protects them from the temptation to sin and that they really do know God, so they should reject all false teaching.
5:18a
anyone born of God does not keep on sinning: (Meaning) The Greek for this clause is almost exactly the same as 3:9, “Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin.” It means that no child of God should be continually or habitually sinning.
5:18b
(Logical Relationship) The rest of the verse gives the reason why Christians do not continually sin. This connection may be clearer if a conjunction such as “because” is used.
the One who was born of God: (Tense) The tense of the Greek verb here is different from the tense of “anyone born of God” in 5:18a. It indicates that in 5:18b John is referring to a specific person who was once born of God. Several translations make this reference clearer by translating it as “the Son of God.” See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible.
protects him: (Connotation) This implies that the Son of God keeps that person safe from Satan’s attempts to lead him into sin.
5:18c
and: (Logical Relationship) The clause in 5:18c can be considered as a result of the Son of God keeping the Christian safe. So it may be clearer in translation to link it with a conjunction such as “and so” or “so that.”
the evil one: (Meaning) As in 2:13e, this is a common way of referring to Satan.
touch: (Connotation) This word implies the idea of touching someone with the intention of doing something bad to that person. It may therefore be clearer to translate it by “harm.” See Good News Translation and later editions of New International Version (2011 Revision).
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