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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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.