1 John 1–3; Proverbs 21

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1 John 1–3

The Word of Life

aThat which was bfrom the beginning, cwhich we have heard, dwhich we have seen with our eyes, ewhich we looked upon and fhave touched with our hands, concerning the word of life gthe life hwas made manifest, and we have seen it, and itestify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, awhich was with the Father and hwas made manifest to us cthat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so kthat our1 joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light

lThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that mGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. nIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and odo not practice the truth. But pif we walk in the light, qas he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and rthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. sIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and tthe truth is not in us. uIf we confess our sins, he is vfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and rto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, wwe make him a liar, and xhis word is not in us.

Christ Our Advocate

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ywe have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. zHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but aalso for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we bkeep his commandments. Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments cis a liar, and cthe truth is not in him, but whoever dkeeps his word, in him truly ethe love of God is perfected. fBy this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he gabides in him hought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

Beloved, I am writing you ino new commandment, but jan old commandment kthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because2 mthe darkness is passing away and nthe true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and ohates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him3 there is no pcause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and qwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

12  I am writing to you, little children,

because ryour sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

13  I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know shim who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because tyou have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, children,

because uyou know the Father.

14  I write to you, fathers,

because you know shim who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

because tyou are strong,

and the word of God abides in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

15 vDo not love the world or the things in the world. wIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the worldxthe desires of the flesh and ythe desires of the eyes and pride of life4is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And zthe world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

18 Children, ait is the last hour, and as you have heard that bantichrist is coming, so now cmany antichrists have come. dTherefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 eThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for fif they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, gthat it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been hanointed by ithe Holy One, and jyou all have knowledge.5 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but khe who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is bthe antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 lNo one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let mwhat you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then nyou too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us6oeternal life.

26 I write these things to you about pthose who are trying to deceive you. 27 But qthe anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ryou have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and sis true, and is no liejust as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that twhen he appears uwe may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his vcoming. 29 If you know that whe is righteous, you may be sure that xeveryone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

See ywhat kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called zchildren of God; and so we are. The reason why athe world does not know us is that bit did not know him. Beloved, we are zGod’s children cnow, and what we will be dhas not yet appeared; but we know that ewhen he appears7 fwe shall be like him, because gwe shall see him as he is. And everyone who hthus hopes in him ipurifies himself as he is pure.

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; jsin is lawlessness. You know that khe appeared in order to ltake away sins, and min him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; nno one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, olet no one deceive you. pWhoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. qWhoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was rto destroy the works of the devil. sNo one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s8 seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, tnor is the one who udoes not love his brother.

Love One Another

11 For vthis is the message that you have heard from the beginning, wthat we should love one another. 12 We should not be like xCain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? yBecause his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,9 zthat the world hates you. 14 We know that awe have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 bEveryone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that cno murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that dhe laid down his life for us, and ewe ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But fif anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet gcloses his heart against him, hhow does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not ilove in word or talk but in deed and jin truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, kif our heart does not condemn us, lwe have confidence before God; 22 and mwhatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ndo what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, othat we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and plove one another, qjust as he has commanded us. 24 rWhoever keeps his commandments abides in God,10 and God11 in him. And sby this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.


Proverbs 21

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he yturns it wherever he will.

zEvery way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the Lord aweighs the heart.

bTo do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

cHaughty eyes and a proud heart,

dthe lamp1 of the wicked, are sin.

The plans of ethe diligent lead surely to abundance,

but everyone who is fhasty comes gonly to poverty.

hThe getting of treasures by a lying tongue

is a ifleeting jvapor and a ksnare of death.2

The violence of the wicked will lsweep them away,

because they refuse to do what is just.

The way of the guilty mis crooked,

but the conduct of the pure is upright.

It is nbetter to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

10  The soul of the wicked desires evil;

his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

11  When oa scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;

when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12  The Righteous One pobserves the house of the wicked;

he throws the wicked down to ruin.

13  qWhoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor

will himself call out and not be answered.

14  rA gift in secret averts anger,

and a concealed bribe,3 strong wrath.

15  When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous

sbut terror to evildoers.

16  One who wanders from the way of good sense

twill rest in the assembly of the dead.

17  Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;

he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

18  uThe wicked is a vransom for the righteous,

and the traitor for the upright.

19  It is wbetter to live in a desert land

than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

20  xPrecious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling,

but a foolish man ydevours it.

21  Whoever zpursues righteousness and kindness

will find alife, righteousness, and honor.

22  bA wise man scales the city of the mighty

and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

23  cWhoever keeps his mouth and his tongue

dkeeps himself out of etrouble.

24  fScoffer is the name of the arrogant, haughty man

who acts with arrogant pride.

25  The desire of gthe sluggard kills him,

for his hands refuse to labor.

26  All day long he craves and craves,

but the righteous hgives and does not hold back.

27  iThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;

how much more jwhen he brings it with evil intent.

28  kA false witness will perish,

but the word of a man who hears will endure.

29  A wicked man puts on a bold face,

but the upright lgives thought to4 his ways.

30  mNo wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

can avail against the Lord.

31  nThe horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but othe victory belongs to the Lord.