ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 John 2.13-14

Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

11. But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. 12. I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

13. I write unto you, fathers, because ye know him who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil one. I have written unto you, little children, because ye know the Father. 14. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye know him who is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the evil one.

  1. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:11-16, ASV)
WEB

11. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.

13. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. 14. I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

  1. Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. (1 John 2:11-16, WEB)
KJV

11. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. 12. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

13. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 14. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

  1. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:11-16, KJV)
YLT

11. and he who is hating his brother, in the darkness he is, and in the darkness he doth walk, and he hath not known whither he doth go, because the darkness did blind his eyes. 12. I write to you, little children, because the sins have been forgiven you through his name;

13. I write to you, fathers, because ye have known him who [is] from the beginning; I write to you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil. I write to you, little youths, because ye have known the Father: 14. I did write to you, fathers, because ye have known him who [is] from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God in you doth remain, and ye have overcome the evil.

  1. Love not ye the world, nor the things in the world; if any one doth love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 16. because all that [is] in the world, the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the ostentation of the life, is not of the Father, but of the world, (1 John 2:11-16, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: The letter is formally anonymous. Early and unanimous tradition assigns it to John the apostle (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.16.5 and 3.16.8, c. AD 180), and its vocabulary and style are closely shared with the Fourth Gospel.
  • Audience: Churches in Roman Asia, addressed after a secession: "they went out from us, but they were not really of us" (1 John 2:19). The departing teachers denied that Jesus is the Christ (2:22) and that He has come in the flesh (4:2).
  • Location: Traditionally Ephesus, the center of the Johannine circle in Asia Minor.
  • Time period: c. AD 85-95, late in the apostolic period. The stated purpose is assurance: "these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

Theological reading

"I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one..."

A structured, repeated address. Verses 12-14 form two parallel triads addressed to children, fathers, and young men, the first set introduced by "I am writing" (present) and the second by "I have written" (aorist). The change of tense has been much discussed and probably reflects a rhetorical shift rather than two occasions of writing.

Who the three groups are. Two main readings. Either they are age groups within the congregation, or they are stages of Christian maturity, with children as the newly born, young men as those in active conflict, and fathers as the long-established. The second reading is common and fits the content, since what is said of each group is spiritual rather than chronological: the children know the Father, the young men are strong and have overcome the evil one, the fathers know Him who has been from the beginning.

What each group is told is already true of them. John is not exhorting here; he is stating grounds for assurance, six times over, before he issues the warning about loving the world (verse 15) and about antichrists (verse 18). The pastoral order matters: this is a letter written to people whose confidence has been shaken by a church split, and it establishes what they have before naming what threatens it.

"You have overcome the evil one." Nenikēkate, perfect tense, an accomplished victory with continuing effect. The letter returns to the theme at 1 John 4:4, "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world", and 5:4, "this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith."

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Concepts:

Lexicon:

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.