Judgment on the Whole Earth
1 Behold, the Lord will empty the earth1 and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be, sas with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
for the Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies tdefiled
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7 The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The wasted city is broken down;
every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
uas when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
The Word of Life
1 aThat which was from the beginning, bwhich we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning cthe word1 of life— 2 the dlife was made emanifest, and we have seen it, and ftestify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was gwith the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our hfellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And iwe are writing these things so that jour2 joy may be complete.
Walking in the Light
5 kThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 lIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we mlie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and nthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 oIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and pthe truth is not in us. 9 qIf 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 we have not sinned, we rmake him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Christ Our Advocate
1 My little children, sI am writing these things to you tso that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an uadvocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the vpropitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we wkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a xliar, and ythe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever zkeeps his word, in him truly the love of God is aperfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he babides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
The New Commandment
7 Beloved, cI am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is da new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because3 ethe darkness is passing away and fthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ghates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever hloves his brother abides in the light, and in him4 there is no cause for istumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and jwalks 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 kyour sins are lforgiven for his name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know mhim who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you nknow the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God oabides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
