¹⁶ “[^LFor] God loved the world so much that he gave his ·one and only [only; unique; ^Tonly begotten; 1:14, 18] Son so that whoever believes in him may not ·be lost [^Tperish], but have eternal life. ¹⁷ [^LFor; Indeed] God did not send his Son into the world to ·judge the world guilty [condemn the world], but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ People who believe in God’s Son are not ·judged guilty [condemned]. Those who do not believe have already been ·judged guilty [condemned], because they have not believed in [^Lthe name of] God’s ·one and only [only; unique; ^Tonly begotten; 3:16] Son. ¹⁹ ·They are judged by this fact [^LAnd this is the judgment/condemnation/verdict]: The Light [^CJesus, God’s Son] has come into the world, ·but they did not want light. They wanted darkness [^Lbut people loved the darkness more than the light], because they were doing evil things. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show ·all the evil things they do [^Ltheir deeds/actions]. ²¹ But those who ·follow the true way [do what is true; live by the truth] come to the light, and it ·shows [may be seen] that the things they do were done ·through [or in the sight of; or in obedience to; ^Lin] God.”

²⁴ “·I tell you the truth [^LTruly, truly I say to you], whoever ·hears [obeys] ·what I say [^Lmy word/message] and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. That person will not ·be judged guilty [^Lcome into judgment/condemnation] but has ·already left death and entered life [^Lpassed from death into life]. ²⁵ ·I tell you the truth [^LTruly, truly I say to you], the ·time [^Lhour] is coming and is already here when the dead will ·hear [obey] the voice of the Son of God, and those who ·hear [obey] will ·have life [live]. ²⁶ [^LFor] ·Life comes from the Father himself [just as the Father has life], ·and [so] he has ·allowed the Son to have [given the Son] life in himself as well. ²⁷ And the Father has given the Son the ·approval [authority; power; right] to ·judge [execute judgment], because he is the Son of Man [^Ca title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14].

³⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “I am the ·bread that gives life [^Tbread of life]. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you before, you have seen me and still don’t believe. ³⁷ ·The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me [^LAll/Everything the Father gives me will come to me], and I will ·always accept them [not reject them; ^Lnot cast them out]. ³⁸ [^LFor] I came down from heaven to do ·what God wants me to do [^Lthe will of him who sent me], not ·what I want to do [^Lmy own will]. ³⁹ Here is ·what the One who sent me wants me to do [^Lthe will of him who sent me]: I must not lose even one whom God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day. ⁴⁰ Those who see the Son and believe in him have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. This is ·what my Father wants [^Lthe will of my Father].”

Life Is like Planting a Field

⁷ Do not be ·fooled [deceived; mistaken]: You cannot ·cheat [mock; make a fool of] God. People ·harvest only what they plant [reap what they sow]. ⁸ If they plant ·to satisfy [or in the field of; ^Linto; to] their ·sinful selves [sinful nature; flesh], ·their sinful selves will bring them ruin [^Lthey will reap destruction from the flesh]. But if they plant ·to please [or in the field of; ^Linto; to] the Spirit, they will ·receive [reap; harvest] eternal life from the Spirit. ⁹ We must not become ·tired [or discouraged] of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life ·at the right [or in due] time if we do not give up. ¹⁰ [^LTherefore; So then] When we have the opportunity to ·help [do good to] anyone, we should do it. But ·we should give special attention [^Lespecially] to those who are in the ·family [household] of ·believers [^Lfaith].

¹⁵ ·What I say is true [or This saying/word is trustworthy; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 3:8], and ·you should fully accept it [^Lworthy of full acceptance; ^Cwhat follows may be an early Christian hymn]: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the ·worst [^Lfirst; foremost]. ¹⁶ But [^Lfor that reason] I was given mercy so that in me, the worst of all sinners, Christ Jesus could show that he has ·unlimited [immense; perfect; ^Lall] patience. His patience with me made me an example for those who would believe in him and have ·life forever [eternal life]. ¹⁷ To the ·King who rules forever [eternal King; ^LKing of the ages], ·who will never die [immortal; incorruptible], ·who cannot be seen [invisible], the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

³ In the past we also were foolish. We did not obey, we were ·wrong [mislead; deceived], and we were slaves to ·many things our bodies wanted and enjoyed [^Lvarious passions and pleasures]. We spent our lives doing evil and being ·jealous [envious]. People hated us, and we hated each other. ⁴ But when the kindness and ·love [love of humanity] of God our Savior ·was shown [appeared; was revealed], ⁵ he saved us because of his mercy. It was not because of ·good deeds we did to be right with him [or righteous deeds we did]. He saved us through the washing ·that made us new people [^Lof new-birth/regeneration and renewal] ·through [by] the Holy Spirit. ⁶ God poured out ·richly [generously; abundantly] upon us that Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷ Being [^L…so that having been] ·made right with God [justified; declared righteous] by his grace, we could ·have the hope of receiving [^Lbecome heirs with the hope/expectation of] ·the life that never ends [eternal life].

⁸ This ·teaching is true [saying/word is trustworthy; 1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11], and I want you to ·be sure the people understand [or insist on] these things. Then those who ·believe [trust; have faith] in God will ·be careful to use their lives for [devote themselves to; or take the lead in] doing good. These things are good and will ·help [be beneficial for] everyone.

⁶ Jesus Christ is the One who came by water [^Clikely a reference to Jesus’ baptism] and blood [^Ca reference to his death]. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit ·says that this is true [is the one who testifies/bears witness; Mark 1:11; John 1:32–34], because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ ·So [or For] there are three ·witnesses^[a] [who testify/bear witness]: ⁸ the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three witnesses ·agree [^Lare one]. ⁹ ·We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important [^LIf we accept the witness/testimony of people, the witness/testimony of God is better], ·and he has told us the truth about his own Son [^Lbecause this is the witness/testimony God has given about his Son]. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God ·has the truth that God told us [or has the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit; or has the testimony of the eyewitnesses (see 1:1–4); ^Lhas the witness/testimony in himself]. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar [1:10], because that person does not believe ·what God told us [^Lthe witness/testimony that God witnessed/testified to] about his Son. ¹¹ This is ·what God told us [^Lthe witness/testimony]: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

We Have Eternal Life Now

¹³ ·I write this letter [^LI have written these things] to you who believe in the [^Lname of the] Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. ¹⁴ And this is the ·boldness [confidence] we have ·in God’s presence [^Lbefore God; 3:21]: that if we ask God for anything ·that agrees with what he wants [^Laccording to his will], he hears us. ¹⁵ [^LAnd] If we know he hears us ·every time we ask him [in whatever we ask], we know we have what we ask from him [3:21–22; Mark 11:24].