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1 John 2:10-12
New Catholic Bible
1 John 2:10-12
New Catholic Bible
10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light,
and there is nothing in him
to make him stumble.
11 Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness,
and he walks about in darkness.
He does not know where he is going
because the darkness has blinded him.
The Concupiscences of the World[a]
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.
Footnotes
- 1 John 2:12 The author addresses all with affection: “Dear children,” as he says. He wants to answer every one of them—the old as well as the young. He recalls that Christians are set free from sin, that they are the vanquishers of the power of evil, personified in the Bible as the devil, “the evil one.” This victory is attained by the action of God and not by adhering to the speculations that are being spread about. Adhering therein is the “world”—a term that refers to all that is opposed to God. The fourth Gospel had already accustomed us to this language that opposes God to the world and light to darkness. The author wishes to speak thereby of all the limitations of the human, e.g., unregulated desires, the need to possess, and the satisfaction of extravagance. In the face of this seduction that troubles every existence, believers can stand fast only by a life marked profoundly by the word of God.
