Iohannis I 2
1 Filioli mei, hæc scribo vobis, ut non peccetis. Sed et si quis peccaverit, advocatum habemus apud Patrem, Jesum Christum justum:
My children, I am writing to you to keep you from sinning. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the righteous.
2 et ipse est propitiatio pro peccatis nostris: non pro nostris autem tantum, sed etiam pro totius mundi.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but the sins of the whole world.
3 Et in hoc scimus quoniam cognovimus eum, si mandata ejus observemus.
It is by keeping God’s commands that we can be sure we know him.
4 Qui dicit se nosse eum, et mandata ejus non custodit, mendax est, et in hoc veritas non est.
Whoever says ‘I know him,’ but does not keep his commands, is a liar. The truth has no place in them.
5 Qui autem servat verbum ejus, vere in hoc caritas Dei perfecta est: et in hoc scimus quoniam in ipso sumus.
But the person who keeps God’s word, in them the love of God has indeed reached its perfection. This is how we can be sure we are in him:
6 Qui dicit se in ipso manere, debet, sicut ille ambulavit, et ipse ambulare.
whoever claims to live in him should live just as Jesus did.
7 Carissimi, non mandatum novum scribo vobis, sed mandatum vetus, quod habuistis ab initio. Mandatum vetus est verbum, quod audistis.
Dear friends, it is no new command that I am writing to you, but an old command, which you have had from the beginning. That old command is the message you have already heard.
8 Iterum mandatum novum scribo vobis, quod verum est et in ipso, et in vobis: quia tenebræ transierunt, et verum lumen jam lucet.
Yet, in a way, it is a new command that I am writing to you – which is shown true in Christ’s life and in yours – for the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
9 Qui dicit se in luce esse, et fratrem suum odit, in tenebris est usque adhuc.
The person who says that they are in the light, and yet hates others, is still in the darkness.
10 Qui diligit fratrem suum, in lumine manet, et scandalum in eo non est.
The person who loves others is always in the light, and there is nothing within them to cause them to stumble.
11 Qui autem odit fratrem suum, in tenebris est, et in tenebris ambulat, et nescit quo eat: quia tenebræ obcæcaverunt oculos ejus.
The person who hates is in the dark. They stumble along in the darkness; they do not know where they are going because the darkness blinds them.
12 Scribo vobis, filioli, quoniam remittuntur vobis peccata propter nomen ejus.
Little children, I am writing to you because your sins have been forgiven for Christ’s sake.
13 Scribo vobis, patres, quoniam cognovistis eum, qui ab initio est. Scribo vobis, adolescentes, quoniam vicistis malignum.
Parents, I am writing to you because you have come to know him who has been from the beginning. Young people, I am writing to you because you have conquered the evil one. Children, I write to you because you have come to know the Father.
14 Scribo vobis, infantes, quoniam cognovistis patrem. Scribo vobis juvenes, quoniam fortes estis, et verbum Dei manet in vobis, et vicistis malignum.
Parents, I write to you because you have learned to know him who has been from the beginning. Young people, I write to you because you are strong, and God’s message is always in your hearts, and you have conquered the evil one.
15 Nolite diligere mundum, neque ea quæ in mundo sunt. Si quis diligit mundum, non est caritas Patris in eo:
Do not love the world or what the world can offer. When anyone loves the world, there is no love for the Father in them.
16 quoniam omne quod est in mundo, concupiscentia carnis est, et concupiscentia oculorum, et superbia vitæ: quæ non est ex Patre, sed ex mundo est.
For all that the world can offer – the desires for physical pleasure, the enticements to the eye, the arrogance of wealth – belongs, not to the Father, but to the world.
17 Et mundus transit, et concupiscentia ejus: qui autem facit voluntatem Dei manet in æternum. (aiōn g165)
And the world, and all that it gratifies, is passing away, but they who do God’s will remain for ever. (aiōn g165)
18 Filioli, novissima hora est: et sicut audistis quia antichristus venit, et nunc antichristi multi facti sunt; unde scimus, quia novissima hora est.
My children, it is the last hour. You were told that an antichrist was coming; and many antichrists have already arisen. This is why we know that this is the last hour.
19 Ex nobis prodierunt, sed non erant ex nobis, nam, si fuissent ex nobis, permansissent utique nobiscum: sed ut manifesti sint quoniam non sunt omnes ex nobis.
These people come from our ranks, but they were never truly part of us – if they had been then they would have stayed with us. They left so it would be clear that none of them really belonged to us.
20 Sed vos unctionem habetis a Sancto, et nostis omnia.
You, however, have been annointed by the Holy One. You all know the truth.
21 Non scripsi vobis quasi ignorantibus veritatem, sed quasi scientibus eam: et quoniam omne mendacium ex veritate non est.
I am not writing to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie can come from the truth.
22 Quis est mendax, nisi is qui negat quoniam Jesus est Christus? Hic est antichristus, qui negat Patrem, et Filium.
Who is a liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? That person is the antichrist – one who rejects the Father and the Son.
23 Omnis qui negat Filium, nec Patrem habet: qui confitetur Filium, et Patrem habet.
No one who rejects the Son has the Father; to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father also.
24 Vos quod audistis ab initio, in vobis permaneat: si in vobis permanserit quod audistis ab initio, et vos in Filio et Patre manebitis.
As for you, you must let what you have heard from the beginning continue to live in you. If what you heard from the beginning dwells in you, you will remain both in the Son and the Father.
And this is what he himself promised us – eternal life! (aiōnios g166)
26 Hæc scripsi vobis de his, qui seducant vos.
In writing this to you, I have in mind those who are trying to mislead you.
27 Et vos unctionem, quam accepistis ab eo, maneat in vobis. Et non necesse habetis ut aliquis doceat vos: sed sicut unctio ejus docet vos de omnibus, et verum est, et non est mendacium. Et sicut docuit vos: manete in eo.
As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains with you. You do not need anyone to teach you. His anointing teaches you about everything. What it teaches you is true, it is not a lie. Do what it has taught you: abide in him.
28 Et nunc, filioli, manete in eo: ut cum apparuerit, habeamus fiduciam, et non confundamur ab eo in adventu ejus.
Yes, my children, remain in him, so that when he appears our confidence doesn’t fail us, and we are not ashamed to meet him at his coming.
29 Si scitis quoniam justus est, scitote quoniam et omnis, qui facit justitiam, ex ipso natus est.
Since you know he is righteous, you realise that everyone who does what is right is his child.
