⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.^(A) And in him is no sin.^{(B) 6} No one who lives in him keeps on sinning.^(C) No one who continues to sin has either seen him^(D) or known him.^(E)

⁷ Dear children,^(F) do not let anyone lead you astray.^(G) The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.^{(H) 8} The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,^(I) because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God^(J) appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.^{(K) 9} No one who is born of God^(L) will continue to sin,^(M) because God’s seed^(N) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.