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1	Book [[rc://adddd]]	Chapter	Verse	ID	SupportReference	OrigQuote	Occurrence	GLQuote	OccurrenceNote
2	1JN [[rc://asdfasd]]	front	intro	nl27			0		Introduction to 1 John Part 1: General Introduction Outline of the book of 1 John This is a letter that the apostle John wrote to challenge and correct false teachings that were leading followers of Jesus to believe wrong things and live in wrong ways. At that time, the letter form had distinct opening and closing sections. The main body of the letter came in between. Opening of Letter (1:1-4) Main Body of Letter (1:5–5:12) Genuine believers obey God and love one another (1:5–2:17) It is false teaching to deny that Jesus is the Messiah (2:18–2:27) Genuine children of God do not sin (2:28–3:10) Genuine believers help one another sacrificially (3:11–18) Genuine believers have confidence in prayer (3:19–24) It is false teaching to deny that Jesus became human (4:1–6) Genuine believers love one another as God has loved them (4:7–21) It is false teaching to deny that Jesus is the Son of God (5:1–12) Closing of Letter (5:13-21) Who wrote the book of 1 John? The author of this letter does not give his name. However, since early Christian times, the church has widely considered the apostle John to be the author. He wrote the Gospel of John, and there are many similarities between the content of that book and this letter. If John did write this letter, he probably did so near the end of his life. To whom was the book of 1 John written? The author wrote this letter to people whom he addresses as “beloved” and, figuratively, as “my little children.” This probably means believers in various churches located in the area where John was then living. What is the book of 1 John about? False teachers were encouraging followers of Jesus to believe wrong things and to live in wrong ways. John wanted to challenge and correct those false teachings so that the people who received his letter would continue to believe the truth they had been taught and live in right ways. The false teachers were saying that these people were not saved; John wanted to assure them that they were saved. How should the title of this book be translated? Translators may choose to call this book by its traditional title, “1 John” or “First John.” They may also choose a different title, such as “The First Letter from John” or “The First Letter John Wrote.” (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]]) Part 2: Important Religious and Cultural Concepts Who were the people whom John spoke against? The false teachers John was challenging seem to have held beliefs similar to what would later become known as Gnosticism. Those false teachers believed that the physical world was evil. They thought that God would not become human, since they considered the physical body to be evil, so they denied that Jesus was God come to earth in human form. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/evil]]) Part 3: Important Translation Issues “sin” In chapter 1, John says that we should not deny that we have sinned. Rather, if we confess our sin, God will forgive us. In chapter 2, John says that he is writing this letter so that the recipients will not sin, but he adds that if they do sin, Jesus will advocate on their behalf. But in chapter 3, John says that everyone who has been begotten from God and who remains in God does not commit sin and is not able to sin. And in chapter 5, John says that we should not pray for people who are sinning certain ways, although we should pray for people who are sinning in other ways. This may seem confusing and contradictory. However, the explanation is that the people whose teachings John was writing to challenge and correct were saying that it did not matter what people did in their bodies. This was because they thought physical matter was evil, and so they thought God did not care about it. In effect, they were saying that there was no such thing as sin. So John needed to say, in chapter 1, that sin is real and that everyone has sinned. Some of the believers may have been deceived by the false teaching and committed sins, so John also needed to reassure them that if they repented and confessed their sins, God would forgive them. John says similar things in chapter 2. Then in chapter 3 he explains that the new nature that believers have as children of God is one that does not want to sin and that does not enjoy sinning. So they should recognize that those who excuse or condone sin are not truly children of God, and that as children of God themselves, they can become more and more obedient and free from sin. Finally, in chapter 5, John warns that if a person sins wantonly and continually, this likely means that they have rejected Jesus and are not influenced by the Holy Spirit. He says that in that case, it may not be effective to pray for them. But he then encourages his readers that if a person sins occasionally but feels remorse, he is influenced by the Spirit, and so the prayers of other believers will help him repent and live in a right way again. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin]] and [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith]] and [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/forgive]]) “remain” In this letter, John often uses the word “remain” (which could also be translated as “reside” or “abide”) as a spatial metaphor. John speaks of a believer becoming more faithful to Jesus and knowing Jesus better as if the word of Jesus “remained” in the believer. He speaks of a person being spiritually joined to someone else as if that person “remained” in the other person: He writes that Christians “remain” in Christ and in God, and he says that the Father “remains” in the Son, the Son “remains” in the Father, the Son “remains” in believers, and the Holy Spirit “remains” in believers. Translators may find it difficult to represent these ideas in their own languages if they try to use exactly the same words and expressions each time. For example, in 2:6, when John speaks of a believer “remaining” in God, he intends to express the idea of that believer being spiritually unified with God. Accordingly, UST speaks of the believer being “in union with God.” To give another example, for the statement in 2:13 that “the word of God remains in you,” UST says, “you continue to obey what God commands.” This shows how other expressions can be found that accurately communicate the various ideas that John is expressing through the term “remain.” “appear” In several places in this letter, John uses a term that ULT usually translates as “appear.” This is actually a passive verbal form in Greek, but as is often the case with such forms in that language, it can have an active meaning. When it has an active meaning, it is important to recognize that it does not simply mean “seemed to be there,” as the word “appeared” might suggest. Rather, it means “was there.” This is illustrated well by the use of the term in another New Testament book, 2 Corinthians, in which Paul writes in 5:10 that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” Clearly this does not mean that we must only seem to be present there. Rather, we must actually be there. Throughout the epistle, it is a subtle matter of interpretation to decide whether John is using the term “appear” in an active sense or in a passive sense. For example, in 1:2, John applies the term twice to the “Word of life,” that is, to Jesus. But it is not clear whether he is saying that Jesus himself “appeared,” that is, he came to earth, or that he “was made apparent” (made visible), with the emphasis on the idea that God revealed Jesus to the world and in the process revealed himself to the world through Jesus. At each place where John uses this term, notes will call attention to it and discuss what it likely means in that context. “the world” John also uses the term “world” in a variety of senses in this letter. It can mean the earth, something material, the people who live in the world, the people who do not honor God, or the values of the people who do not honor God. Notes will address the meaning of the term “world” in each instance where John uses it. “to know” The verb “to know” is used in two different ways in this letter. Sometimes it is used about knowing a fact, as in 3:2, 3:5, and 3:19. Sometimes it means to experience and understand someone or something, as in 3:1, 3:6, 3:16, and 3:20. Sometimes John uses it in two different senses in the same sentence, as in 2:3, “in this we know that we have known him.” Your languages may have different words for these different meanings, and it would be appropriate to use them in your translation. Major textual issues in the text of the book of 1 John When ancient manuscripts of the Bible differ, ULT puts the readings that scholars consider to be most accurate in its text, but it puts other possibly accurate readings in footnotes. The introductions to each chapter will discuss places where the ancient manuscripts differ in significant ways, and notes will address those places again where they occur in the book. If a translation of the Bible already exists in your region, consider using the readings found in that version. If not, we recommend that you follow the readings in the ULT text. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]])
3	1JN [rc://asdfadddd2]	1	intro	ab9v			0		1 John 01 General Notes Structure and formatting Opening of the letter (1:1-4) Genuine believers obey God and love one another (1:5–10, continues through 2:17) Important translation issues in this chapter Like many Greek compositions of this time, for stylistic purposes this letter begins with a very long sentence. It goes from the beginning of 1:1 to the middle of 1:3. The parts of this sentence are not in the order that is customary in many languages. The direct object comes first, and it is very long, made up of many different clauses. The subject and verb do not come until near the end. And in the middle, there is a long digression. So it will be a challenge to translate. One approach that might work well in your language would be to create a verse bridge that includes all of 1:1–3. You could break up this long sentence into several smaller sentences, repeating the subject and verb for clarity. This would allow you to present the parts of the sentence in an order that might be more customary in your language and that your readers might understand better. For example: “So that you will have fellowship with us, we are declaring to you what we have seen and heard. We are declaring to you what was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. It has to do with the Word of life. Indeed, the life appeared, and we have seen it, and we are testifying to it. Yes, we are announcing to you the eternal life that was with the Father and that appeared to us.” If you take this approach, another way to translate the second sentence would be, “We are declaring to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched.” Another approach that could also work well, and which would not require a verse bridge, would be to leave the phrases in their present order, but to divide the sentence into three parts at the verse divisions. If you do that, you could also put your translation of the phrase “regarding the Word of life” at the beginning rather than the end of 1:1 and present it as a topical introduction to the letter. Otherwise, your readers might not get the sense that this is a letter until they reached 1:4, where John formally states his purpose for writing. The notes to 1:1–4 provide further specific suggestions for how to translate this long opening sentence. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-versebridge]]) Important textual issues in this chapter In 1:4, the most accurate ancient manuscripts read “so that our joy may be fulfilled.” ULT follows that reading. However, some other ancient manuscripts read “your joy” instead of “our joy.” If a translation of the Bible already exists in your region, consider using whichever reading is found in that version. If a translation does not already exist, we recommend that you follow the reading in the ULT text. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]])