New International Version NIV
New International Reader's Version NIRV
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on 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.
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How great is the love the Father has given us so freely! Now we can be called children of God. And that's what we really are! The world doesn't know us because it didn't 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 Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
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Dear friends, now we are children of God. He still hasn't let us know what we will be. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is.
3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
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He is pure. All who hope to be like him make themselves pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
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Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact, breaking the law is sin.
5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
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But you know that Christ came to take our sins away. And there is no sin in him.
6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
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No one who remains joined to 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.
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Dear children, don't let anyone lead you down the wrong path. Those who do what is right are holy, just as Christ is holy.
8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
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Those who do what is sinful belong to the devil. They are just like him. He has been sinning from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the devil's work.
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
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Those who are born again because of what God has done will not keep on sinning. God's very nature remains in them. They can't go on sinning. They have been born again because of what God has done.
10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
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Here is how you can tell the difference between the children of God and the children of the devil. Those who don't do what is right do not belong to God. Those who don't love their brothers and sisters do not belong to him either.
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
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From the beginning we have heard 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 actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
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Don't be like Cain. He belonged to the evil one. He murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because the things Cain had done were wrong. But the things his brother had done were right.
13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
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My brothers and sisters, don't be surprised if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
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We know that we have left our old dead condition and entered into new life. We know it because we love one another. Those who do not are still living in their old condition.
15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
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Those who hate their brothers and sisters are murderers. And you know that murderers do not have eternal life in their hearts.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
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We know what love is because Jesus Christ gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
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Suppose someone sees a brother or sister in need and is able to help them. If he doesn't take pity on them, how can the love of God be in him?
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
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Dear children, don't just talk about love. Put your love into action. Then it will truly be love.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:
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That's how we know that we hold to the truth. And that's how we put our hearts at rest, knowing that God is watching.
20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
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Our hearts may judge us. But God is greater than our hearts. He knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
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Dear friends, if our hearts do not judge us, we can be bold with God.
22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
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And he will give us anything we ask. That's because we obey his commands. We 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.
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God has commanded us to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. He has also commanded us to love one another.
24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
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Those who obey his commands remain joined to him. And he remains joined to them. How do we know that God lives in us? We know it because of the Holy Spirit he gave us.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.