1 John 3
The full text of 1 John 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 See what great love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who keeps sinning breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
5 And you know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
6 No one who remains in him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
8 The one who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. This is why the Son of God appeared: to destroy the devil's work.
9 No one who is born of God keeps on sinning, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot keep on sinning, because they have been born of God.
10 This is how the children of God and the children of the devil are made clear: anyone who does not do what is right is not from God, nor is anyone who does not love their fellow believer.
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another.
12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love one another. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates a fellow believer is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in them.
16 This is how we have come to know love: he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
17 If anyone has the world's goods and sees a fellow believer in need but closes their heart against them, how can the love of God remain in them?
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth, and how we will set our hearts at rest in his presence:
20 whenever our heart condemns us. For God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God,
22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
24 The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he remains in us: by the Spirit he gave us.
Translation notes (6)
- 1 John 3:2a This can also be translated as "when it is made known." The Greek phrase "when he/it appears" (ean phanerōthē) could refer either to Christ appearing or to our future state being revealed.
- 1 John 3:6a The present tense in this verse describes ongoing, habitual sin rather than a single act. This explains why the same letter can say believers do sin (2:1) yet also state that those who abide in Christ do not "keep on sinning."
- 1 John 3:9a The Greek word sperma means "seed." This is understood as the divine life or nature placed in the believer, with the image being of an enduring source rather than a single deed.
- 1 John 3:17a The Greek phrase "closes his bowels" (ta splangchna) refers to a cultural understanding where the inward organs were considered the seat of compassion. The idiom means to shut off one's pity.
- 1 John 3:19a The Greek phrase peisomen tēn kardian literally means "we will persuade our heart." This could mean either to reassure it or, less likely, to convince it before God. The sense of quieting an anxious conscience is followed here.
- 1 John 3:20a The Greek sentence structure is difficult. It may also be read as "that if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart." Either way, the main point is God's deeper knowledge compared to a self-accusing conscience.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Greek and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including 1 John, are free to read on this site.
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