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The Lord's Sacred Land

The Lord said:

45 When the land of Israel is divided among the twelve tribes, you must set aside an area that will belong to me. This sacred area will be 12.5 kilometers long and 10 kilometers[a] wide. The temple will be on a piece of land 255 meters square, and the temple will be completely surrounded by an open space 25 meters wide.

3-4 I will give half of my sacred land, a section 12.5 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide, to the priests who serve in the temple. Their houses will be in this half, as well as my temple, which is the most sacred place of all.

I will give the other half of my land to the Levites who work in my temple, and the towns[b] where they will live will be there.

Next to my sacred land will be an area 12.5 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. This will belong to the people of Israel and will include the city of Jerusalem.

Land for Israel's Ruler

The Lord said:

7-8 The regions west and east of my sacred land and the city of Jerusalem will belong to the ruler of Israel. He will be given the region between the western edge of my land and the Mediterranean Sea, and between the eastern edge of my land and the Jordan River. This will mean that the length of his property will be the same as the sections of land given to the tribes.

This property will belong to every ruler of Israel, so they will always be fair to my people and will let them live peacefully in the land given to their tribes.

Israel's Rulers Must Be Honest

The Lord God said:

You leaders of Israel have cheated and abused my people long enough! I want you to stop sinning and start doing what is right and fair. You must never again force my people off their own land. I, the Lord, have spoken.

10 (A) So from now on, you must use honest weights and measures. 11 The ephah will be the standard dry measure, and the bath will be the standard liquid measure. Their size will be based on the homer, which will equal ten ephahs or ten baths.[c]

12 The standard unit of weight will be the shekel.[d] One shekel will equal 20 gerahs, and 60 shekels will equal one mina.

13 Leaders of Israel, the people must bring you one sixtieth of their grain harvests as offerings to me. 14 They will also bring one percent of their olive oil. These things will be measured according to the bath, and ten baths is the same as one homer or one cor. 15 Finally, they must bring one sheep out of every 200 from their flocks.

These offerings will be used as grain sacrifices, as well as sacrifices to please me[e] and those to ask my blessing.[f] I, the Lord, will be pleased with these sacrifices and will forgive the sins of my people.

16 The people of Israel will bring you these offerings. 17 But during New Moon Festivals, Sabbath celebrations, and other religious feasts, you leaders will be responsible for providing animals for the sacrifices, as well as the grain and wine. All these will be used for the sacrifices for sin, the grain sacrifices, the sacrifices to please me, and those to ask my blessing. I will be pleased and will forgive the sins of my people.

The Festivals

(Exodus 12.1-20; Leviticus 23.33-43)

18 The Lord God said:

On the first day of the first month,[g] a young bull that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice to purify the temple. 19 The priest will take some blood from this sacrifice and smear it on the doorposts of the temple, as well as on the four corners of the altar and on the doorposts of the gates that lead into the inner courtyard.

20 The same ceremony must also be done on the seventh day of the month, so that anyone who sins accidentally or without knowing it will be forgiven, and so that my temple will remain holy.

21 (B) Beginning on the fourteenth day of the first month, and continuing for seven days, everyone will celebrate Passover and eat bread made without yeast. 22 On the first day, the ruler will bring a bull to offer as a sacrifice for his sins and for the sins of the people. 23 Each day of the festival he is to bring seven bulls and seven rams as sacrifices to please me,[h] and he must bring a goat[i] as a sacrifice for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. 24 He will also provide nine kilograms of grain and three liters of olive oil to be offered with each bull and each ram.

25 (C) The Festival of Shelters will begin on the fifteenth day of the seventh month[j] and will continue for seven days. On each day of this festival, the ruler will provide the same number of animals that he did each day during Passover, as well as the same amount of grain and olive oil for the sacrifices.

Various Laws for the Ruler and the People

46 The Lord said:

The east gate of the inner courtyard must remain closed during the six working days of each week. But on the Sabbath and on the first day of the month, this gate will be opened. Israel's ruler will go from the outer courtyard into the entrance room of this gate and stand in the doorway while the priest offers sacrifices to ask my blessing[k] and sacrifices to please me.[l] The ruler will bow with his face to the ground to show that he has worshiped me. Then he will leave, and the gate will remain open until evening.

Each Sabbath and on the first day of each month, the people of Israel must also come to the east gate and worship me. On the Sabbath, the ruler will bring six lambs and one ram to be offered as sacrifices to please me. There must be nothing wrong with any of these animals. With the ram, he is to offer nine kilograms of grain, and with each of the lambs, he can offer as much as he wants. He must also offer three liters of olive oil with every nine kilograms of grain.

The ruler is to bring six lambs, a bull, and a ram to be offered as sacrifices at the New Moon Festival. There must be nothing wrong with any of these animals. With the bull and the ram, he is to offer nine kilograms of grain, and with each of the lambs, he can offer as much as he wants. He must also offer three liters of olive oil with every nine kilograms of grain. The ruler must come through the entrance room of the east gate and leave the same way.

When my people come to worship me during any festival, they must always leave by the opposite gate from which they came: Those who come in the north gate must leave by the south gate, and those who come in the south gate must leave by the north gate. 10 Their ruler will come in at the same time they do and leave at the same time they leave.

11 At all other festivals and celebrations, nine kilograms of grain will be offered with a bull, and nine kilograms will be offered with a ram. The worshipers can offer as much grain as they want with each lamb. Three liters of olive oil must be offered with every nine kilograms of grain.

12 If the ruler voluntarily offers a sacrifice to please me or to ask my blessing, the east gate of the inner courtyard will be opened for him. He will offer his sacrifices just as he does on each Sabbath; then he will leave, and the gate will be closed.

13 Each morning a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice to please me. 14 Along with it, two kilograms of fine flour mixed with a liter of olive oil must be offered as a grain sacrifice. This law will never change— 15 the lamb, the flour, and the olive oil will be offered to me every morning for all time.

Laws about the Ruler's Land

16 The Lord God said:

If the ruler of Israel gives some of his land to one of his children, it will belong to the ruler's child as part of the family property. 17 (D) But if the ruler gives some of his land to one of his servants, the land will belong to the servant until the Year of Celebration, when it will be returned to the ruler.[m] Only the ruler's children can keep what is given to them.

18 The ruler must never abuse my people by taking land from them. Any land he gives his children must already belong to him.

The Sacred Kitchens

19 The man who was showing me the temple[n] then took me back to the inner courtyard. We walked to the south side of the courtyard and stopped at the door to the sacred rooms that belonged to the priests. He showed me more rooms at the western edge of the courtyard 20 and said, “These are the kitchens where the priests must boil the meat to be offered as sacrifices to make things right[o] and as sacrifices for sin.[p] They will also bake the grain for sacrifices in these kitchens. That way, these sacred offerings won't have to be carried through the outer courtyard, where someone could accidentally touch them and be harmed.”[q]

21 We went back to the outer courtyard and walked past the four corners. 22 At each corner I saw a smaller courtyard, 20 meters long and 15 meters wide. 23 Around the inside of these smaller courtyards was a low wall of stones, and against the wall were places to build fires.[r] 24 The man said, “These are the kitchens where the temple workers will boil the meat that worshipers offer as sacrifices.”

Footnotes

  1. 45.1 and 10 kilometers: One ancient translation; Hebrew “and 5 kilometers.”
  2. 45.5 the towns: One ancient translation; Hebrew “the 20 rooms.”
  3. 45.11 the homer … ten ephahs … ten baths: A homer was either a dry or a liquid measure and equaled about 220 liters; an ephah would be about 22 liters, and a bath would be about 22 liters.
  4. 45.12 the shekel: The shekel was about eleven grams.
  5. 45.15 sacrifices to please me: See the note at 40.38,39.
  6. 45.15 sacrifices … to ask my blessing: See the note at 43.27.
  7. 45.18 the first month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
  8. 45.23 sacrifices to please me: See the note at 40.38,39.
  9. 45.23 goat: See the note at 43.22.
  10. 45.25 seventh month: Tishri (also called Ethanim), the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-September to mid-October.
  11. 46.2 sacrifices to ask my blessing: See the note at 43.27.
  12. 46.2 sacrifices to please me: See the note at 40.38,39.
  13. 46.17 the Year of Celebration … to the ruler: This was a sacred year for Israel, traditionally called the “Year of Jubilee.” During this year, all property had to go back to its original owner (see Leviticus 25.8-34).
  14. 46.19 The man … temple: See 40.3.
  15. 46.20 sacrifices to make things right: See the note at 40.38,39.
  16. 46.20 sacrifices for sin: See the note at 40.38,39.
  17. 46.20 someone … touch them and be harmed: See the note at 44.19.
  18. 46.23 fires: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 23.

Israel Fully Restored

45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance,(A) you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits[a] long and 20,000[b] cubits[c] wide; the entire area will be holy.(B) Of this, a section 500 cubits[d] square(C) is to be for the sanctuary, with 50 cubits[e] around it for open land. In the sacred district, measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits[f] wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests,(D) who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the Lord. It will be a place for their houses as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.(E) An area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide will belong to the Levites, who serve in the temple, as their possession for towns to live in.[g](F)

“‘You are to give the city as its property an area 5,000 cubits[h] wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjoining the sacred portion; it will belong to all Israel.(G)

“‘The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions.(H) This land will be his possession in Israel. And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes.(I)

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have gone far enough, princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression(J) and do what is just and right.(K) Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 10 You are to use accurate scales,(L) an accurate ephah[i](M) and an accurate bath.[j] 11 The ephah(N) and the bath are to be the same size, the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer is to be the standard measure for both. 12 The shekel[k] is to consist of twenty gerahs.(O) Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.[l]

13 “‘This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah[m] from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah[n] from each homer of barley. 14 The prescribed portion of olive oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath[o] from each cor (which consists of ten baths or one homer, for ten baths are equivalent to a homer). 15 Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings(P) and fellowship offerings to make atonement(Q) for the people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 All the people of the land will be required to give this special offering to the prince in Israel. 17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons(R) and the Sabbaths(S)—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings,[p] grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.(T)

18 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the first month(U) on the first day you are to take a young bull without defect(V) and purify the sanctuary.(W) 19 The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge(X) of the altar(Y) and on the gateposts of the inner court. 20 You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally(Z) or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.

21 “‘In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover,(AA) a festival lasting seven days, during which you shall eat bread made without yeast. 22 On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.(AB) 23 Every day during the seven days of the festival he is to provide seven bulls and seven rams(AC) without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord, and a male goat for a sin offering.(AD) 24 He is to provide as a grain offering(AE) an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin[q] of olive oil for each ephah.(AF)

25 “‘During the seven days of the festival,(AG) which begins in the seventh month on the fifteenth day, he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings and oil.(AH)

46 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court(AI) facing east(AJ) is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon(AK) it is to be opened. The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico(AL) of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering(AM) and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.(AN) On the Sabbaths(AO) and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway.(AP) The burnt offering the prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect. The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah,[r] and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hin[s] of olive oil for each ephah.(AQ) On the day of the New Moon(AR) he is to offer a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all without defect.(AS) He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(AT) When the prince enters, he is to go in through the portico(AU) of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.(AV)

“‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals,(AW) whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. 10 The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out.(AX) 11 At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.(AY)

12 “‘When the prince provides(AZ) a freewill offering(BA) to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.(BB)

13 “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning(BC) you shall provide it.(BD) 14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah[t] with a third of a hin[u] of oil(BE) to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord is a lasting ordinance.(BF) 15 So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular(BG) burnt offering.(BH)

16 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance.(BI) 17 If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom;(BJ) then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs. 18 The prince must not take(BK) any of the inheritance(BL) of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.’”

19 Then the man brought me through the entrance(BM) at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north,(BN) which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offering[v] and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecrating(BO) the people.”(BP)

21 He then brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court. 22 In the four corners of the outer court were enclosed[w] courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide;[x] each of the courts in the four corners was the same size. 23 Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all around under the ledge. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 8 miles or about 13 kilometers; also in verses 3, 5 and 6
  2. Ezekiel 45:1 Septuagint (see also verses 3 and 5 and 48:9); Hebrew 10,000
  3. Ezekiel 45:1 That is, about 6 1/2 miles or about 11 kilometers
  4. Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 875 feet or about 265 meters
  5. Ezekiel 45:2 That is, about 88 feet or about 27 meters
  6. Ezekiel 45:3 That is, about 3 1/3 miles or about 5.3 kilometers; also in verse 5
  7. Ezekiel 45:5 Septuagint; Hebrew temple; they will have as their possession 20 rooms
  8. Ezekiel 45:6 That is, about 1 2/3 miles or about 2.7 kilometers
  9. Ezekiel 45:10 An ephah was a dry measure having the capacity of about 3/5 bushel or about 22 liters.
  10. Ezekiel 45:10 A bath was a liquid measure equaling about 6 gallons or about 22 liters.
  11. Ezekiel 45:12 A shekel weighed about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams.
  12. Ezekiel 45:12 That is, 60 shekels; the common mina was 50 shekels. Sixty shekels were about 1 1/2 pounds or about 690 grams.
  13. Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
  14. Ezekiel 45:13 That is, probably about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  15. Ezekiel 45:14 That is, about 2 1/2 quarts or about 2.2 liters
  16. Ezekiel 45:17 Or purification offerings; also in verses 19, 22, 23 and 25
  17. Ezekiel 45:24 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters
  18. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, probably about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11
  19. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters; also in verses 7 and 11
  20. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
  21. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, about 1 1/2 quarts or about 1.3 liters
  22. Ezekiel 46:20 Or purification offering
  23. Ezekiel 46:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  24. Ezekiel 46:22 That is, about 70 feet long and 53 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 16 meters wide

Christ Helps Us

My children, I am writing this so you won't sin. But if you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he will speak to the Father for us. Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world's people.

When we obey God, we are sure we know him. But if we claim to know him and don't obey him, we are lying and the truth isn't in our hearts. We truly love God only when we obey him as we should, and then we know we belong to him. If we say we are his, we must follow the example of Christ.

The New Commandment

(A) My dear friends, I am not writing to give you a new commandment. It is the same one you were first given, and it is the message you heard. But it really is a new commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does. You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already shining.

If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. 10 But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don't cause problems for them.[a] 11 If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don't know where we are going, because we can't see in the dark.

12 Children, I am writing you,
    because your sins
have been forgiven
    in the name of Christ.
13 Parents, I am writing you,
    because you have known
the one who was there
    from the beginning.
Young people, I am writing you,
because you have defeated
    the evil one.
14 Children, I am writing you,
because you have known
    the Father.
Parents, I am writing you,
    because you have known
the one who was there
    from the beginning.
Young people, I am writing you,
    because you are strong.
God's message is firm
    in your hearts,
and you have defeated
    the evil one.

15 Don't love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you cannot love the Father. 16 Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father. 17 The world and the desires it causes are disappearing. But if we obey God, we will live forever.

The Enemy of Christ

18 Children, this is the last hour. You heard that the enemy of Christ would appear at this time, and many of Christ's enemies have already appeared. So we know the last hour is here. 19 These people came from our own group, yet they were not really part of us. If they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. But they left, which proves they did not belong to our group.

20 Christ, the Holy One,[b] has blessed[c] you, and now all of you understand.[d] 21 I did not need to write you about the truth, since you already know it. You also know that liars do not belong to the truth. 22 And a liar is anyone who says Jesus isn't truly Christ. Anyone who says this is an enemy of Christ and rejects both the Father and the Son. 23 If we reject the Son, we reject the Father. But if we say we accept the Son, we have the Father. 24 Keep thinking about the message you first heard, and you will always be one in your heart with the Son and with the Father. 25 The Son[e] has promised us[f] eternal life.

26 I am writing to warn you about those people who are misleading you. 27 But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit.[g] Now the Spirit stays in you, and you don't need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So stay one in your heart with Christ, just as the Spirit has taught you to do.

Children of God

28 Children, stay one in your hearts with Christ. Then when he returns, we will have confidence and won't have to hide in shame. 29 You know Christ always does right and everyone who does right is a child of God.

Footnotes

  1. 2.10 and we don't cause problems for them: Or “and we can see anything that might make us fall.”
  2. 2.20 Christ, the Holy One: The Greek text has “the Holy One” which may refer either to Christ or to God the Father.
  3. 2.20 blessed: This translates a word which means “to pour olive oil on (someone's head).” In Old Testament times it was the custom to pour olive oil on a person's head when that person was chosen to be a priest or a king. Here the meaning is not clear. It may refer to the ceremony of pouring olive oil on the followers of the Lord right before they were baptized or it may refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit which they were given at baptism (see verse 27).
  4. 2.20 now all of you understand: Some manuscripts have “you understand all things.”
  5. 2.25 The Son: The Greek text has “he” and may refer to God the Father.
  6. 2.25 us: Some manuscripts have “you.”
  7. 2.27 Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit: The Greek text has “You received a pouring on of olive oil from him” (see verse 20). The “pouring on of olive oil” is here taken to refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit, and “he” may refer either to Christ or to the Father.

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

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

We know(E) that we have come to know him(F) if we keep his commands.(G) Whoever says, “I know him,”(H) but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.(I) But if anyone obeys his word,(J) love for God[a] is truly made complete in them.(K) This is how we know(L) we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.(M)

Dear friends,(N) I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.(O) This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command;(P) its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing(Q) and the true light(R) is already shining.(S)

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister[b](T) is still in the darkness.(U) 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light,(V) and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.(W) 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister(X) is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.(Y) They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.(Z)

Reasons for Writing

12 I am writing to you, dear children,(AA)
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.(AB)
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.(AC)
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome(AD) the evil one.(AE)

14 I write to you, dear children,(AF)
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.(AG)
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,(AH)
    and the word of God(AI) lives in you,(AJ)
    and you have overcome the evil one.(AK)

On Not Loving the World

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world.(AL) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[d] is not in them.(AM) 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,(AN) the lust of the eyes,(AO) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away,(AP) but whoever does the will of God(AQ) lives forever.

Warnings Against Denying the Son

18 Dear children, this is the last hour;(AR) and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming,(AS) even now many antichrists have come.(AT) This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us,(AU) but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.(AV)

20 But you have an anointing(AW) from the Holy One,(AX) and all of you know the truth.[e](AY) 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it(AZ) and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.(BA) 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.(BB)

24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning(BC) remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.(BD) 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.(BE)

26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.(BF) 27 As for you, the anointing(BG) you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things(BH) and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.(BI)

God’s Children and Sin

28 And now, dear children,(BJ) continue in him, so that when he appears(BK) we may be confident(BL) and unashamed before him at his coming.(BM)

29 If you know that he is righteous,(BN) you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.(BO)

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 2:5 Or word, God’s love
  2. 1 John 2:9 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15, 17; 4:20; 5:16.
  3. 1 John 2:10 The Greek word for brother and sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in 3:10; 4:20, 21.
  4. 1 John 2:15 Or world, the Father’s love
  5. 1 John 2:20 Some manuscripts and you know all things