1 John 4

1 Dear friends, many people [who have a false message] are teaching it to people [MTY]. So do not trust every [message that someone claims/says that God’s] Spirit [MTY] [gave to him]. Instead, (test/think carefully about) the teachings that [you hear] in order to know whether they are from God or not.

Palung ih kaminawk, muithla boih to tang o hmah, to muithlanawk loe Sithaw ih Muithla maw, tiah tanoek oh: pop parai angsahcop tahmaanawk long nuiah caeh o boeh.

2 [I will tell] you how to recognize [teachings that come from] the Spirit of God: Those who affirm/say that Jesus Christ came [from God] to become a human [like us] are [teaching a message] that is from God.

Jesu Kri loe taksa ah angcoeng, tiah kathui muithla loe Sithaw ih Muithla ah oh, to tiah Sithaw ih Muithla to na panoek o thaih:

3 But those who do not affirm/say [that about] Jesus are not [teaching a message] from God. [They are teachers who] oppose Christ. You have heard that people like that are coming [to be among us]. Even now they are already here!

Jesu Kri loe taksa ah angzoh, tiah taphong ai muithla loe Sithaw ih Muithla na ai ni: to baktih muithla loe Kri lok aek muithla ni, to muithla to angzo tih, tiah na thaih o boeh; to muithla loe vaihi doeh long nuiah oh boeh.

4 As for you who are very dear to me, you belong to God, and you have refused [the false messages] that those people [teach], because [God], who enables you [to do what he wants], is (greater/more powerful) than ([Satan/the devil]), who enables (godless people/people who conduct their lives in a way that displeases God) [MTY].

Nawktanawk, nangcae loe Sithaw ih kami ah na oh o, to baktih kaminawk to na pazawk o boeh: tipongah tih nahaeloe nangcae thungah kaom Anih loe long ah kaom anih pongah len kue.

5 As for [those who are teaching what is false], they are (godless people/people whose lives are displeasing to God) [MTY]. Because of that, they teach what (godless people/people whose lives are displeasing to God) [MTY] want to hear. That is why the (godless people/people whose lives displease God) [MTY] listen to them.

Nihcae loe long ih kami ah oh o, to pongah long ih hmuen to a thuih o, a thuih o ih lok to long mah tahngaih pae.

6 As for us [(exc)], [because] we belong to God, whoever (knows/has a close relationship with) God listens to us. [But] those who do not belong to God do not listen to us. That is how we can know whether [the things that people are teaching] [MTY] are true or whether they are false, and deceiving [people].

Aicae loe Sithaw ih kami ah a oh o: Sithaw panoek kami mah loe aicae ih lok to tahngaih; Sithaw ih kami ah om ai kami mah loe aicae ih lok to tahngai ai. Hae tiah loktang Muithla hoi lok amlai muithla to a panoek o.

7 Dear friends, we must love each other, because God [enables us] to love [each other], and because those who love [their fellow believers] have become God’s children and (know/have a close relationship with) him.

Kang palung o ih kaminawk, maeto hoi maeto amlung o si: amlunghaih loe Sithaw ih ni; amlunghaih tawn kami loe Sithaw mah tapen ih kami ah oh moe, Sithaw to panoek.

8 God’s [nature] is to love [all people]. So those who do not love [their fellow believers] do not (know/have a relationship with) God.

Amlunghaih tawn ai kami loe Sithaw panoek ai; Sithaw loe amlunghaih ah oh.

9 I will tell you how God has shown us [that he] loves us: He sent (his only Son/the only one who was also God) [to live] on the earth to enable us to live [eternally] as a result of [our trusting in what] he [accomplished for us by dying for us].

Anih rang hoiah a hing o thai hanah, Sithaw mah a tawn ih maeto khue a Capa to long ah patoeh boeh, hae tiah Sithaw amlunghaih to aicae khaeah amtueng.

10 [And God] has shown [us what it means to] love [another person]: [It does] not [mean] that we loved God, but [it means] that God loved us and sent (his Son/the one who was also God) to sacrifice [his life] in order that [our sins might be forgiven] {[he might forgive] our sins}.

Amlunghaih loe, Aicae mah Sithaw palung ih na ai ah, aicae ang palung pongah, aicae zaehaih tahmen hanah a Capa long ah patoehhaih to ni amlunghaih ah oh.

11 Dear friends, since God loves us like that, we certainly ought to love each other!

Palung ih kaminawk, Sithaw mah aicae palung phi pongah, aicae doeh maeto hoi maeto amlung han oh.

12 No one has ever seen God. [Nevertheless], if we love each other, [it is evident that] God lives within us and that we love others just like he [intends/wants us to do].

Mi mah doeh Sithaw to hnu vai ai. Toe aicae maeto hoi maeto amlung nahaeloe, Sithaw aicae thungah oh moe, aicae thungah anih amlunghaih to akoep.

13 [I will tell you] how we can be sure that we have a close relationship with God and that God is within us: He has put his Spirit within us.

Anih mah angmah ih Muithla to aicae khaeah paek boeh pongah, aicae loe Anih ah a oh o moe, Anih doeh aicae ah oh toeng, tito a panoek o.

14 We [apostles] have seen (God’s Son/the one who is also God), and [we tell people] that the Father sent him to save [the people in] the world [MTY] [from being punished for their sins].

Long pahlongkung ah oh hanah, Ampa mah a Capa to patoeh boeh, tito a hnuk o moe, a taphong o boeh.

15 [So] those who affirm/say that Jesus is the (Son of/one who is also) God, God is within them, and they have a close relationship with God.

Jesu loe Sithaw Capa ni, tiah taphong kami loe, anih thungah Sithaw oh, anih doeh Sithaw thungah oh.

16 We have experienced how God loves us and we believe that he loves us. [As a result, we love others. Because] God’s [nature] is to love people, those who continue to love [others] have a close relationship with God, and God has a close relationship with them.

Sithaw mah aicae palunghaih to a panoek o moe, a tang o boeh. Sithaw loe amlunghaih ah oh; amlunghaih thungah kaom kami loe, Sithaw thungah oh moe, anih thungah Sithaw oh.

17 We [should] love others completely. And if we do that, when the time comes for [him to] judge us, we will be confident [that he will not condemn us] (OR, [that we have a close relationship with him]). [We will be confident of that] because of our [conducting our lives] in this world as Christ did.

Lokcaekhaih niah zithaih a tawnh o han ai ah, aicae loe amlunghaih hoi kakoep ah kho a sak o, hae long nuiah Anih baktiah kho a sak o pongah ni zithaih tawn ai ah a oh o.

18 We will not be afraid [of God] if we [truly] love [him], because those who love [God] completely cannot possibly be afraid [of him]. [We would be] afraid only [if we thought that he would] punish us. So those who are afraid [of God certainly] are not loving [God] completely.

Amlunghaih ah zithaih om ai; raihaih tong moeng tih, tiah poekhaih tawnh pongah ni zithaih to oh, kakoep amlunghaih mah loe zithaih to anghmatsak: zithaih tawn kami loe kakoep amlunghaih to tawn ai vop.

19 We love [God and our fellow believers] because God loved us first.

Anih mah aicae palung hmaloe pongah, aicae mah doeh Anih to palung o toeng.

20 [So] those who say “I love God” but hate a fellow believer are lying. Those who do not love one of their fellow believers, whom they have seen, certainly cannot be loving God, whom they have not seen.

Sithaw ka palung, tiah thuih moe, amnawk hnuma kami loe, lok amlai kami ah oh: a hnuk ih angmah ih amnawk mataeng doeh palung ai kami mah, a hnuk vai ai ih Sithaw to kawbangmaw palung thai tih?

21 Keep in mind that this is what God has commanded us: If we love him, we must also love our fellow believers.

Anih khae hoiah hae kaalok hae a hnuk o. Sithaw palung kami loe angmah ih amnawk doeh palung.