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1 John 2

1My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for the whole world.

3By this we know that we have come to know him: if we keep his commandments. 4The one who says, “I have come to know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5But whoever keeps his word, in that person the love of God has truly been brought to completion. By this we know that we are in him: 6the one who says that he remains in him ought also to walk just as he walked.

7Beloved, I am not writing you a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word you heard. 8Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9The one who says that he is in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness. 10The one who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11But the one who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

12I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. 14I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the boasting in one's possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away, and so is its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

18Children, it is the last hour. Just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. From this we know that it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out so that it might be revealed that none of them are of us. 20And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know. 21I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is from the truth. 22Who is the liar if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? This is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; the one who confesses the Son also has the Father. 24As for you, let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you too will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is the promise he himself promised us: eternal life.

26I have written these things to you about those who are deceiving you. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is no lie, remain in him just as it taught you.

28And now, little children, remain in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does righteousness has been fathered by him.

Translation notes 9

2:1–2 — Advocate and atoning sacrifice. “Advocate” describes someone who speaks on another's behalf. Here the title refers to Jesus; in the Gospel it also describes the Spirit. “Atoning sacrifice” renders a word for dealing with sin and restoring relationship with God. “Means of atonement,” “expiation,” and “propitiation” express different aspects emphasized by interpreters. The Greek does not separately include the noun “sacrifice.” “The whole world” is retained without restricting its scope or adding an explanation of how the atonement takes effect.

2:5–6 — Love of God and remaining. “Love of God” can mean love for God or God's love working in a person; obedience especially supports the former here. “Remain” recurs throughout the letter for enduring relationship and allegiance. The person who claims this relationship must walk as Jesus walked.

2:7–11 — The old and new commandment. Love belongs to what the readers first heard, yet is new in its realization in Jesus and among them. “Brother” preserves the family language and includes fellow believers of either sex. “No cause for stumbling in him” may concern the person's own stumbling or causing another to stumble; “in it,” referring to the light, is another interpretation.

2:12–14 — Children, fathers, and young men. The gendered addresses are retained. They may describe age groups or levels of maturity; “children” elsewhere addresses the community as a whole. The shift from “I am writing” to “I have written” is in the Greek and need not refer to an earlier letter. Here “children” begins verse 14, following the Greek base; some English Bibles place that sentence at the end of verse 13.

2:15–17 — The world and possessions. Here “world” describes life organized around desires and self-importance apart from the Father, rather than denying concern for the people of the world. The final expression in verse 16 can also mean pride in one's means of living or way of life. “Flesh” and “eyes” retain the concrete language of desire.

2:18–19 — Antichrists and departure. The letter applies “antichrist” to opponents already present, while also recalling an expected coming figure. It does not identify a later historical person. The final clause of verse 19 is taken to exclude the departing group as a whole; “not all are of us” is a more formally literal alternative. “They went out” is supplied again to complete the unfinished clause.

2:20, 27 — Anointing and knowledge. “All of you know” follows the Greek base; another reading is “you know all things.” The anointing is commonly understood as the Spirit's gift, associated here with the truth received from the beginning. The unqualified statement about not needing a teacher is retained in its setting of competing claims to teach. At the end of verse 27, “you remain in him” is grammatically possible instead of the command “remain in him.”

2:22–25 — Messiah and confession. “Messiah” expresses the title in the claim about who Jesus is; “Jesus Christ” remains in the name-like combinations. Verse 23's positive statement about confessing the Son is present in the Greek base but absent from some witnesses.

2:28–29 — Coming and divine parentage. The pronouns move closely between Jesus and God the Father without always restating their names. “Fathered by him” preserves the parental metaphor of the Greek verb, made explicit by the Father's children in 3:1 and God's seed in 3:9. “Born of him” is another defensible rendering. “You know” in verse 29 could also be an imperative, “recognize.”