1 John 1
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Word of Life
1 [a]That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship[b] with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing this that our[c] joy may be complete.
God Is Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness[d] at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Footnotes
- 1.1-7 Note the likeness with John’s Gospel 1.1-18.
- 1.3 fellowship: A Johannine theme.
- 1 John 1:4 Other ancient authorities read your
- 1.5 light . . . darkness: Another familiar theme in John’s Gospel.
1 John 1
New King James Version
What Was Heard, Seen, and Touched(A)
1 That (B)which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have (C)seen with our eyes, (D)which we have looked upon, and (E)our hands have handled, concerning the (F)Word of life— 2 (G)the life (H)was manifested, and we have seen, (I)and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was (J)with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is (K)with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you (L)that [a]your joy may be full.
Fellowship with Him and One Another
5 (M)This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that (N)God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 (O)If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we (P)walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and (Q)the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we (R)confess our sins, He is (S)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to (T)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we (U)make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Footnotes
- 1 John 1:4 NU, M our
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.