ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 John 2.15-17

Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

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.

15. 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. 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

  1. Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour. 19. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:13-19, ASV)
WEB

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.

15. 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. 17. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.

  1. Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. 19. They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. (1 John 2:13-19, WEB)
KJV

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.

15. 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. 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

  1. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (1 John 2:13-19, KJV)
YLT

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.

15. 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, 17. and the world doth pass away, and the desire of it, and he who is doing the will of God, he doth remain, to the age.

  1. Little youths, it is the last hour; and even as ye heard that the antichrist doth come, even now antichrists have become many, whence we know that it is the last hour; 19. out of us they went forth, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but, that they might be manifested that they are not all of us. (1 John 2:13-19, 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

The letter's warning against the world, with its own definition attached.

The command (verse 15). "Do not love the world nor the things in the world." The kosmos in view is not the created order or humanity as the object of God's love (John 3:16) but the organized human order in its alienation from God. See 1 John 2.15 and G2889 - kosmos.

The definition (verse 16). Three terms: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the alazoneia tou biou, the pretension or ostentation of one's livelihood. John defines the world he forbids loving by appetites and display, not by matter or by ordinary life, which is what distinguishes this command from the world-rejecting dualism of the systems the letter opposes. See 1 John 2.16.

The reason (verse 17). "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." The argument is eschatological rather than ascetic. John does not say the world's goods are evil; he says they are temporary, and that attaching one's love to what is passing is a category error about time.

Placement. The paragraph sits between the assurances of verses 12-14 and the antichrist warning of verses 18-27. John's consistent pattern is assurance, then warning, then assurance again, and the warnings are addressed to people he has just told are forgiven and strong.

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.