1 Johani 4

1 Vadikanwi, musatenda mweya umwe neumwe, asi muidze mweya, kana yakabva kuna Mwari; nokuti vazhinji vaporofita venhema vakabudira munyika.

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.

2 Neizvi munoziva Mweya waMwari: Wese mweya unobvuma kuti Jesu Kristu wakauya panyama, unobva muna Mwari.

[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.

3 Zvino mweya wese usingabvumi kuti Jesu Kristu wakauya panyama, haubvi muna Mwari; uye uyu ndiye wemupikisi waKristu, wamakanzwa kuti anouya, naikozvino watova panyika.

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!

4 Imwi munobva muna Mwari, vana vadiki, uye makavakunda; nokuti ari mamuri mukuru kune ari munyika.

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].

5 Ivo vanobva munyika; naizvozvo vanotaura zvinobva munyika, uye nyika inovanzwa.

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.

6 Isu tinobva muna Mwari; uyo anoziva Mwari, anotinzwa; asingabvi muna Mwari, haatinzwi. Kubva pane izvi tinoziva mweya wechokwadi nemweya wekutsauka.

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].

7 Vadikanwi, ngatidanane; nokuti rudo rwunobva muna Mwari, uye umwe neumwe anoda wakaberekwa kubva muna Mwari, uye anoziva Mwari.

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.

8 Asingadi, haazivi Mwari, nokuti Mwari rudo.

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.

9 Pane izvi rudo rwaMwari rwakaratidzwa matiri, kuti Mwari wakatuma Mwanakomana wake wakaberekwa umwe wega munyika, kuti tirarame kubudikidza naye.

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].

10 Rudo rwuri pachinhu ichi, kwete kuti isu takada Mwari, asi kuti iye wakatida, akatuma Mwanakomana wake kuti ave muripo wekuyananisa maererano nezvivi zvedu.

[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}.

11 Vadikanwi, kana Mwari akatida saizvozvo, nesu tinofanira kudanana.

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

12 Hakuna wakamboona Mwari; kana tichidanana, Mwari anogara matiri, uye rudo rwake rwunoperedzerwa matiri.

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].

13 Pane izvi tinoziva kuti tinogara maari, naiye matiri, nokuti wakatipa zvinobva paMweya wake.

[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.

14 Isuwo takaona uye tinopupura kuti Baba vakatuma Mwanakomana kuva Muponesi wenyika.

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].

15 Ani nani anobvuma kuti Jesu Mwanakomana waMwari, Mwari anogara maari, naiye muna Mwari.

[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.

16 Nesu takaziva uye takatenda rudo Mwari rwaanarwo kwatiri. Mwari rudo, uye anogara murudo anogara muna Mwari, naMwari maari.

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.

17 Pane izvi rudo rwakapedzeredzwa nesu, kuti tive neushingi nezuva rekutonga, nokuti sezvaari iye, nesu takadaro kunyika ino.

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.

18 Hakuna kutya murudo, asi rudo rwakaperera rwunodzingira kunze kutya, nokuti kutya kune marwadzo; anotya haana kuperedzerwa parudo.

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.

19 Isu tinomuda, nokuti iye wakatanga kutida.

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

20 Kana umwe achitaura kuti: Ndinoda Mwari, asi achivenga hama yake, murevi wenhema; nokuti uyo asingadi hama yake yaakaona, anogona sei kuda Mwari waasina kuona?

[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.

21 Uye murairo uyu tinawo kubva kwaari, kuti anoda Mwari ngaadewo hama yake.

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