1 John 2 - Jude

New American Standard Bible

Christ Is Our Advocate

2 ^(A)My little children, I am ^(B)writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(C)we have an ^[a](D)Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is ^(E)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also ^(F)for the sins of the whole world.

^3 (G)By this we know that we have come to ^(H)know Him, if we ^(I)keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “^(J)I have come to ^(K)know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(L)liar, and ^(M)the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever ^(N)follows His word, in him the ^(O)love of God has truly been perfected. ^(P)By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says that he ^(Q)remains in Him ^(R)ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.

^7 (S)Beloved, I am ^(T)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(U)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ^8 [c]On the other hand, I am writing ^(V)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because ^(W)the darkness is passing away and ^(X)the true Light is already shining. ⁹ The one who says that he is in the Light and yet ^(Y)hates his ^(Z)brother or sister is in the darkness until now. ^10 (AA)The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. ¹¹ But the one who ^(AB)hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and ^(AC)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has ^(AD)blinded his eyes.

¹² I am writing to you, ^(AE)little children, because ^(AF)your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name. ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AG)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because ^(AH)you have overcome ^(AI)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because ^(AJ)you know the Father. ¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AK)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are ^(AL)strong, and the ^(AM)word of God remains in you, and ^(AN)you have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵ Do not love ^(AO)the world nor the things in the world. ^(AP)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, ^(AQ)the lust of the flesh and ^(AR)the lust of the eyes and ^(AS)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ^17 (AT)The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who ^(AU)does the will of God continues to live forever.

¹⁸ Children, ^(AV)it is the last hour; and just as you heard that ^(AW)antichrist is coming, ^(AX)even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (AY)They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, ^(AZ)so that ^[d]it would be evident that they all are not of us. ^20 [e]But you have an ^(BA)anointing from ^(BB)the Holy One, and ^(BC)you all know. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but ^(BD)because you do know it, and ^[f]because no lie is ^(BE)of the truth. ²² Who is the liar except ^(BF)the one who denies that Jesus is the ^[g]Christ? This is ^(BG)the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (BH)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ As for you, see that what you heard ^(BI)from the beginning remains in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also ^(BJ)will remain in the Son and in the Father.

The Promise Is Eternal Life

^25 (BK)This is the promise which He Himself ^[h]made to us: eternal life.

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to ^(BL)deceive you. ²⁷ And as for you, the ^(BM)anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing ^(BN)teaches you about all things, and is ^(BO)true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, ^[i]you remain in Him.

²⁸ Now, ^(BP)little children, remain in Him, so that when He ^(BQ)appears, we may have ^(BR)confidence and ^(BS)not ^[j]draw back from Him in shame ^[k]at His ^(BT)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(BU)He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness also ^(BV)has been born of Him.

Children of God Love One Another

3 See ^[l](BW)how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called ^(BX)children of God; and in fact we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because ^(BY)it did not know Him. ^2 (BZ)Beloved, now we are ^(CA)children of God, and ^(CB)it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He ^(CC)appears, we will be ^(CD)like Him, because we will ^(CE)see Him just as He is. ³ And everyone who has this ^(CF)hope set on Him ^(CG)purifies himself, just as He is pure.

⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and ^(CH)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that He ^(CI)appeared in order to ^(CJ)take away sins; and ^(CK)in Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who remains in Him ^(CL)sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or ^[m](CM)knows Him. ^7 (CN)Little children, make sure no one ^(CO)deceives you; ^(CP)the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; ⁸ the one who practices sin is ^(CQ)of the devil; for the devil ^[n]has been sinning from the beginning. ^(CR)The Son of God ^(CS)appeared for this purpose, ^(CT)to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one who has been ^(CU)born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this the ^(CV)children of God and the ^(CW)children of the devil are obvious: ^[o]anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who ^(CX)does not love his ^(CY)brother and sister.

^11 (CZ)For this is the message ^(DA)which you have heard from the beginning, ^(DB)that we are to love one another; ¹² not as ^(DC)Cain, who was of ^(DD)the evil one and murdered his brother. And for what reason did he murder him? Because ^(DE)his own deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.

¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if ^(DF)the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have ^(DG)passed out of death into life, ^(DH)because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who ^(DI)hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that ^(DJ)no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ We know love by this, that ^(DK)He laid down His life for us; and ^(DL)we ought to lay down our lives for the ^(DM)brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ But ^(DN)whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and ^(DO)closes his ^[p]heart ^[q]against him, ^(DP)how does the love of God remain in him? ^18 (DQ)Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and ^(DR)truth. ¹⁹ We will know by this that we are ^(DS)of the truth, and will set our heart at ease before Him, ²⁰ that if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. ^21 (DT)Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have ^(DU)confidence ^[r]before God; ²² and ^(DV)whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we ^(DW)keep His commandments and do ^(DX)the things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³ This is His commandment, that we ^[s](DY)believe in ^(DZ)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as ^(EA)He ^[t]commanded us. ²⁴ The one who ^(EB)keeps His commandments ^(EC)remains in Him, and He in him. ^(ED)We know by this that ^(EE)He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(EF)Beloved, do not believe every ^(EG)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(EH)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(EI)every spirit that ^(EJ)confesses that ^(EK)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that ^(EL)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(EM)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and ^(EN)now it is already in the world. ⁴ You are from God, ^(EO)little children, and ^(EP)have overcome them; because ^(EQ)greater is He who is in you than ^(ER)he who is in the world. ^5 (ES)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ^6 (ET)We are from God. ^(EU)The one who knows God listens to us; ^(EV)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(EW)the spirit of truth and ^(EX)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

^7 (EY)Beloved, let’s ^(EZ)love one another; for love is from God, and ^(FA)everyone who loves has been ^(FB)born of God and ^(FC)knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because ^(FD)God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was revealed ^[u](FE)in us, that ^(FF)God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(FG)not that we loved God, but that ^(FH)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(FI)the ^[v]propitiation for our sins. ^11 (FJ)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(FK)we also ought to love one another. ^12 (FL)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His ^(FM)love is perfected in us. ^13 (FN)By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and ^(FO)testify that the Father has ^(FP)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (FQ)Whoever confesses that ^(FR)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(FS)remains in him, and he in God. ^16 (FT)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[w](FU)for us. ^(FV)God is love, and the one who ^(FW)remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷ By this, ^(FX)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(FY)confidence in ^(FZ)the day of judgment; because ^(GA)as He is, we also are in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(GB)perfect love drives out fear, because fear ^[x]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(GC)perfected in love. ^19 (GD)We love, because He first loved us. ^20 (GE)If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he ^(GF)hates his brother or sister, he is a ^(GG)liar; for ^(GH)the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, ^(GI)cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(GJ)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(GK)must also love his brother and sister.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(GL)Everyone who believes that Jesus is the ^[y]Christ has been ^(GM)born of God, and everyone who loves the ^[z]Father ^(GN)loves the child born of Him. ^2 (GO)By this we know that ^(GP)we love the children of God, when we love God and ^[aa]follow His commandments. ³ For ^(GQ)this is the love of God, that we ^(GR)keep His commandments; and ^(GS)His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^[ab]whoever has been ^(GT)born of God ^(GU)overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

⁵ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who ^(GV)believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ⁶ This is the One who came ^(GW)by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not ^[ac]with the water only, but ^[ad]with the water and ^[ae]with the blood. It is ^(GX)the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are ^(GY)three that testify: ^8 [af]the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are ^[ag]in agreement. ^9 (GZ)If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that ^(HA)He has testified concerning His Son. ¹⁰ The one who believes in the Son of God ^(HB)has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has ^(HC)made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. ¹¹ And the testimony is this, that God has given us ^(HD)eternal life, and ^(HE)this life is in His Son. ^12 (HF)The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

This Is Written That You May Know

^13 (HG)These things I have written to you who ^(HH)believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have ^(HI)eternal life. ¹⁴ This is ^(HJ)the confidence which we have ^[ah]before Him, that, ^(HK)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, ^(HL)we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother or sister ^[ai]committing a sin not leading to death, ^(HM)he shall ask and ^[aj]God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. ^(HN)There is sin leading to death; ^(HO)I am not saying that he should ask about that. ^17 (HP)All unrighteousness is sin, and ^(HQ)there is sin not leading to death.

^18 (HR)We know that ^(HS)no one who has been born of God ^[ak]sins; but He who was born of God ^(HT)keeps him, and ^(HU)the evil one does not ^(HV)touch him. ^19 (HW)We know that ^(HX)we are of God, and that ^(HY)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. ²⁰ And ^(HZ)we know that ^(IA)the Son of God has come, and has ^(IB)given us understanding so that we may know ^(IC)Him who is true; and we ^(ID)are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. ^(IE)This is the true God and ^(IF)eternal life.

^21 (IG)Little children, guard yourselves from ^(IH)idols.

Walk According to His Commandments

^1 (II)The elder to the ^(IJ)chosen ^(IK)lady and her children, whom I ^(IL)love in truth; and not only I, but also all who ^(IM)know the truth, ^2 (IN)because of the truth which remains ^(IO)in us and will be ^(IP)with us forever: ^3 (IQ)Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

^4 (IR)I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received a commandment to do from the Father. ⁵ Now I ask you, lady, ^(IS)not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had ^(IT)from the beginning, that we ^(IU)love one another. ⁶ And ^(IV)this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, ^(IW)just as you have heard ^(IX)from the beginning, that you are to walk in it.

⁷ For ^(IY)many deceivers have ^(IZ)gone out into the world, those who ^(JA)do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is ^(JB)the deceiver and the ^(JC)antichrist. ^8 (JD)Watch yourselves, ^(JE)that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. ^9 [al]Anyone who ^[am]goes too far and ^(JF)does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^(JG)do not receive him into your house, and do not ^[an]give him a greeting; ¹¹ for the one who ^[ao]gives him a greeting ^[ap](JH)participates in his evil deeds.

^12 (JI)Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak ^[aq]face to face, so that ^[ar]your ^(JJ)joy may be made complete.

¹³ The children of your ^(JK)chosen sister greet you.

A Good Report

^1 (JL)The elder to the beloved ^(JM)Gaius, whom I ^(JN)love in truth.

² Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. ³ For I ^(JO)was overjoyed when ^(JP)brothers came and testified to your truth, that is, how you ^(JQ)are walking in truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than ^[as]this, to hear of ^(JR)my children ^(JS)walking in the truth.

⁵ Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the ^(JT)brothers and sisters, and ^[at]especially when they are ^(JU)strangers; ⁶ and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to ^[au](JV)send them on their way in a manner ^(JW)worthy of God. ⁷ For they went out for the sake of ^(JX)the Name, ^(JY)accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to ^[av]support such people, so that we may ^[aw]prove to be fellow workers ^[ax]with the truth.

⁹ I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to ^(JZ)be first among them, does not accept ^[ay]what we say. ¹⁰ For this reason, ^(KA)if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with malicious words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not ^(KB)receive the ^(KC)brothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and ^(KD)puts them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, ^(KE)do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. ^(KF)The one who does what is good is of God; ^(KG)the one who does what is evil has not seen God. ¹² Demetrius ^(KH)has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we testify too, and ^(KI)you know that our testimony is true.

^13 (KJ)I had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with pen and ink; ¹⁴ but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak ^[az]face to face.

^15 (KK)Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends ^(KL)by name.

The Warnings of History to the Ungodly

^1 [ba](KM)Jude, a ^(KN)bond-servant of Jesus Christ and brother of ^[bb]James,

To ^(KO)those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and ^(KP)kept for Jesus Christ: ^2 (KQ)May mercy, peace, and love ^(KR)be multiplied to you.

^3 (KS)Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our ^(KT)common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you ^(KU)contend earnestly for ^(KV)the faith that was once for all time ^(KW)handed down to ^(KX)the ^[bc]saints. ⁴ For certain people have ^(KY)crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand ^[bd](KZ)marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn ^(LA)the grace of our God into ^(LB)indecent behavior and ^(LC)deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵ Now I want to ^(LD)remind you, though ^(LE)you know everything once and for all, that ^[be]the Lord, ^(LF)after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, ^[bf]subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And ^(LG)angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling place, these He has ^(LH)kept in eternal restraints under darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷ just as ^(LI)Sodom and Gomorrah and the ^(LJ)cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and ^(LK)went after ^[bg]strange flesh, are exhibited as an ^[bh](LL)example in undergoing the ^(LM)punishment of eternal fire.

⁸ Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, ^(LN)defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic ^[bi]majesties. ⁹ But ^(LO)Michael ^(LP)the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about ^(LQ)the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “^(LR)The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ But ^(LS)these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and ^(LT)all the things that they know by instinct, ^(LU)like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they have gone ^(LV)the way of Cain, and for pay ^[bj]they have given themselves up to ^(LW)the error of Balaam, and ^(LX)perished in the rebellion of Korah. ¹² These are the ones who are ^[bk]hidden reefs ^(LY)in your love feasts when they feast with you ^(LZ)without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; ^(MA)clouds without water, ^(MB)carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, ^[bl]doubly dead, ^(MC)uprooted; ^13 (MD)wild waves of the sea, churning up ^(ME)their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, ^(MF)for whom the ^[bm]gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴ It was also about these people that ^(MG)Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “^(MH)Behold, the Lord has come with ^[bn]many thousands of His holy ones, ^15 (MI)to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ^(MJ)ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” ¹⁶ These are ^(MK)grumblers, finding fault, ^(ML)following after their own lusts; ^[bo]they speak ^(MM)arrogantly, flattering people ^(MN)for the sake of gaining an advantage.

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God

¹⁷ But you, ^(MO)beloved, ^(MP)ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by ^(MQ)the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸ that they were saying to you, “^(MR)In the last time there will be mockers, ^(MS)following after their own ungodly lusts.” ¹⁹ These are the ones who cause divisions, ^[bp](MT)worldly-minded, ^[bq]devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, ^(MU)beloved, ^(MV)building yourselves up on your most holy ^(MW)faith, ^(MX)praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, ^(MY)looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on some, who are doubting; ²³ save others, ^(MZ)snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, ^(NA)hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

^24 (NB)Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to ^(NC)make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with ^(ND)great joy, ²⁵ to the ^(NE)only ^(NF)God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, ^(NG)be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority ^(NH)before all time and now and ^[br]forever. Amen.