Passage

1 John 1.7

Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"5. And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:"

"7. but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

"8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:5-9, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"5. This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth."

"7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."

"8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:5-9, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:"

"7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

"8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:5-9, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"5. And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all; 6. if we may say, 'we have fellowship with Him,' and in the darkness may walk, we lie, and do not the truth;"

"7. and if in the light we may walk, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son doth cleanse us from every sin;"

"8. if we may say, 'we have not sin,' ourselves we lead astray, and the truth is not in us; 9. if we may confess our sins, stedfast He is and righteous that He may forgive us the sins, and may cleanse us from every unrighteousness;" (1 John 1:5-9, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: John the Apostle (traditionally)
Audience: Christian believers (countering proto-gnostic influences)
Location: Ephesus (composition)
Time period: composed c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

Key words

G0266 - hamartia, hamartia (Strong's G266). Also appears in: Matthew 1.21, Matthew 9.4-8, Matthew 12.31-32.
G2424 - Iesous, Iesous (Strong's G2424). Also appears in: Matthew 1.1, Matthew 1.16, Matthew 1.18.
G3956 - pas, pas (Strong's G3956). Also appears in: Matthew 1, Matthew 2.1-6, Matthew 2.16.
G5207 - huios, huios (Strong's G5207). Also appears in: Matthew 1.1, Matthew 1.20, Matthew 1.21.
G5547 - christos, christos (Strong's G5547). Also appears in: Matthew 1.1, Matthew 1.16, Matthew 1.

Quoted in

H1818 - dam

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.