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1 John 5:7-9
New Catholic Bible
1 John 5:7-9
New Catholic Bible
7 Thus, there are three[a] witnesses,
8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood,
and these three are as one.[b]
9 If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is greater.
For it is the testimony of God,
the testimony that he has given about his Son.
Footnotes
- 1 John 5:7 Three: the Scriptures required three witnesses (see Deut 17:6; 19:15; 1 Tim 5:19). In many manuscripts the text has been amplified; thus the post-Tridentine Vulgate has: “There are three witnesses in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and these three are as one: there are three witnesses on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three are as one.” The words in italics are not found in any of the early Greek manuscripts or translations, or in the best manuscripts of the Vulgate. They are almost universally regarded as a gloss.
- 1 John 5:8 The three witnesses converge; blood and water join the Spirit (see 1 Jn 2:20, 27; Jn 3:5; 4:14) in testifying (see Jn 3:11f) to the mission of the Son who gives life (v. 11; Jn 3:15).
