English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
3
Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
4
If someone claims, "I know him well!" but doesn't keep his commandments, he's obviously a liar. His life doesn't match his words.
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
5
But the one who keeps God's word is the person in whom we see God's mature love. This is the only way to be sure we're in God.
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
6
Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.
7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
7
My dear friends, I'm not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you've known it from day one. It's always been implicit in the Message you've heard.
8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, becausethe darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
8
On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you - the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!
9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
9
Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark.
10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
10
It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others.
11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
11
But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.