21 Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.

22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.

25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

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21 “Present your case,(A)” says the Lord.
    “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.(B)
22 “Tell us, you idols,
    what is going to happen.(C)
Tell us what the former things(D) were,
    so that we may consider them
    and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,(E)
23     tell us what the future holds,
    so we may know(F) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,(G)
    so that we will be dismayed(H) and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing(I)
    and your works are utterly worthless;(J)
    whoever chooses you is detestable.(K)

25 “I have stirred(L) up one from the north,(M) and he comes—
    one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads(N) on rulers as if they were mortar,
    as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,(O) so we could know,
    or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
    no one foretold(P) it,
    no one heard any words(Q) from you.
27 I was the first to tell(R) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
    I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.(S)
28 I look but there is no one(T)
    no one among the gods to give counsel,(U)
    no one to give answer(V) when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
    Their deeds amount to nothing;(W)
    their images(X) are but wind(Y) and confusion.

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That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

That which was from the beginning,(A) which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,(B) which we have looked at and our hands have touched(C)—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared;(D) we have seen it and testify to it,(E) and we proclaim to you the eternal life,(F) which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,(G) so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.(H) We write this(I) to make our[a] joy complete.(J)

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

This is the message we have heard(K) from him and declare to you: God is light;(L) in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,(M) we lie and do not live out the truth.(N) But if we walk in the light,(O) as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.(P)

If we claim to be without sin,(Q) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.(R) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins(S) and purify us from all unrighteousness.(T) 10 If we claim we have not sinned,(U) we make him out to be a liar(V) and his word is not in us.(W)

My dear children,(X) I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate(Y) with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,(Z) and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.(AA)

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

We know(AB) that we have come to know him(AC) if we keep his commands.(AD) Whoever says, “I know him,”(AE) but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.(AF) But if anyone obeys his word,(AG) love for God[c] is truly made complete in them.(AH) This is how we know(AI) we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.(AJ)

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 1:4 Some manuscripts your
  2. 1 John 1:7 Or every
  3. 1 John 2:5 Or word, God’s love