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.

Paragraph 2:18–21

Read 2:18–21 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: In these verses John reassures his readers that they have received the Holy Spirit, and so they know God’s truth. In this way they are different from the false teachers.

2:18a

Children: (Cross-cultural Difference) Here, as in 2:1, John is writing as a respected leader to churches for which he is responsible. He is showing fatherly affection.

the last hour: (Meaning) John is saying that the time when the world will come to an end is no longer distant and that we are in the last period of the world’s time. As this is a metaphorical use of the word “hour” it may be more natural in your language to translate it as “the last days” or “the time when the world is about to end.”

2:18b

you have heard: (Lexical Problem) In some languages it may be necessary to state who told them this. In that case it should be expressed as indefinite, “One told you,” or as “We (John and the other apostles) told you.”

2:18c

the antichrist: (Biblical Term) In this letter John uses this term in the sense of a person who is opposed to Christ, “the enemy of Christ.”

is coming: (Meaning) This means that the antichrist will appear in the world, not that he will come from some other place.

2:18d

so now many antichrists have appeared: (Focus) John is not telling his readers this as if they did not know it. He is reminding his readers of what they already know—that there are many false teachers about. He does this in order to prove that they really are in the last days of the world and therefore they do need to hold on firmly to God’s word.

2:18e

This is how we know: (Pronoun Reference) The word this refers to the fact that many antichrists have appeared.

© 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.

3:22a

and we will receive: (Logical Relationship) This is a second, and more important, consequence of the fact that God does not condemn us as sinners when we pray to him.

© 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.

5:14 (Logical Relationship)

In this and the following verses John states one result of our having eternal life, namely that we can be sure our prayers are answered. You may need to make this connection with the previous verse clear in your translation.

5:14a

the confidence that we have before Him: (Meaning) This represents the same Greek phrase “we have confidence before God” in 3:21b. It means that we are not afraid or ashamed to ask God for things.

5:14c

according to His will: (Meaning) This means that what we want is the same as what God wants, because we are united with him through Jesus and so our deeds and thoughts are the same as his.

hears us: (Connotation) This word implies that God both hears our requests and agrees to give us what we ask for.

© 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.

1:6a

(Good News Translation) then: (Logical Relationship) 1:6 gives the conclusion which John draws from what he has said in the previous verse about God being light. This connection may be clearer if some linking word such as “so” or “then” is used. See Good News Translation, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

If we say: (Expression) These words also occur at the beginning of 1:8 and 1:10. In each case they introduce some false teaching which John wants to expose. He is not implying that he or his readers did actually say such things. He is quoting what the false teachers say and what his readers would say if they followed them. It may be more natural in your language to say, “If/When somebody says…”

with Him: (Pronoun Reference) It may be clearer or more natural to say “with God” here as in The Jerusalem Bible.

1:6b

walk in the darkness: (Metaphor) The picture of a person walking in darkness refers to someone not knowing the truth and constantly doing what is wrong.

1:6c

do not practice the truth: (Meaning) John is saying that not only would such a statement (1:6a) be a lie, but also the person who said it would not be living in accordance with the truth that God has revealed about himself.

© 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.

2:29a

If: (Multiple Senses) This does not express doubt. It indicates that the statement “you know that He is righteous” is the reason for what John says in 2:29b. It may be better translated “since” or “because.” Alternatively, the sentence may be translated:

“You know that he is righteous, therefore/so you should recognize that…”

See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

He is righteous: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different views about who the pronoun He refers to:

(1) It probably refers to Christ. (Good News Translation)

(2) It may refer to God. (The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

righteous: (Multiple Senses) This means that everything that Christ does is right in God’s sight.

2:29b

everyone who: (Meaning) John is concerned in this section with the importance of Christians doing what is right. So when he refers to “everyone” here he means “every Christian.” He is not saying that just anybody, even a non-Christian, who does what is right is born of God. He is saying that when Christians do right this shows us that we are God’s children.

righteousness: (Biblical Term) The Greek word used here refers to everything that is in accordance with God’s will.

born of Him: (Pronoun Reference) This certainly means that such a person is the child of God, not of Christ. But this may not be clear unless “God” is made explicit here. See Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

(1) John is writing here about our relationship to God, so it probably means that the people did not know or believe in God.

(2) Some think it means that the people did not recognize who Christ was. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

© 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.

Paragraph 4:11–12

Read 4:11–12 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: Here John appeals to us to love one another so that God can truly live in us and cause his love to reach others through us.

4:11a

if: (Multiple Senses) The conjunction if is not used here to introduce something that might or might not be true. Here it refers to something that is known to be true, so in many languages a conjunction like “since” or “because” will be more appropriate. See New International Version (2011 Revision) and Display.

so loved us: (Multiple Senses) Here the word so is used in the sense of “so much.” It means that God loved us very much and as a result of that he sent his Son to die for us.

© 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.