2:27a

And as for you: (Emphasis) John is emphasizing here that the Christians, who knew the truth because they had the Holy Spirit in them, are different from the false teachers, who had wrong ideas.

the anointing you received from Him: (Alternative Interpretations) This probably refers to Christ giving the Holy Spirit. See the note on 2:20a on “an anointing from the Holy One.”

2:27b

and you do not need: (Logical Connection) This gives the result of the previous statement, so it may need to be linked by “so” or “therefore.” See Display. In some languages the clauses in 2:27a–b may need to be reversed. For example:

As for you, you do not need anyone to teach you, because/since the anointing you received from him remains in you.

you do not need anyone to teach you: (Figure of Speech) This is hyperbole, a deliberate exaggeration. What John says is stronger than what he means. He certainly thought that his readers needed some teaching because this whole letter is full of teaching. His meaning is that they do not need any teaching other than that which is from the Holy Spirit. If you cannot use hyperbole in this way in your language, you could say “you do not need any other teacher” in order to make the meaning clear.

to teach you: (Background Information) The teaching would be about God’s truth.

2:27c

His true and genuine anointing: (Alternative Interpretations)

(1) This probably means that what the Holy Spirit teaches is true. (Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, King James Version, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) It may mean that the readers have really received the Holy Spirit. (New International Version (2011 Revision), New English Bible)

true and genuine: (Emphasis) In Greek this phrase is literally “is true and is not a lie.” John is here using repetition, first positive and then negative, for emphasis. If this sort of repetition is not natural in your language, you will need to use some other way of expressing the emphasis. The Berean Standard Bible expresses the emphasis by expressing a positive idea two times.

about all things: (Figure of Speech) Again John is using hyperbole. He is emphasizing that the Holy Spirit teaches them about all those true things God has revealed which they need to know. See Display on 2:27b–c.

2:27d

in Him: (Collocation) See the note on 2:5c.

Him: (Pronoun Reference) This refers to Christ.

have been taught: (Meaning) The Holy Spirit is the one who has taught the Christians.

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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.