Passage

1 John 2.28

Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

26. These things have I written unto you concerning them that would lead you astray. 27. And as for you, the anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as his anointing teacheth you; concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, ye abide in him.

28. And now, my little children, abide in him; that, if he shall be manifested, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten of him. (1 John 2:26-29, ASV)

WEB

26. These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 27. As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.

28. Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. (1 John 2:26-29, WEB)

KJV

26. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. ^{in him: or, in it}

28. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. ^{ye know that every: or, know ye} (1 John 2:26-29, KJV)

YLT

26. These things I did write to you concerning those leading you astray; 27. and you, the anointing that ye did receive from him, in you it doth remain, and ye have no need that any one may teach you, but as the same anointing doth teach you concerning all, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as was taught you, ye shall remain in him.

28. And now, little children, remain in him, that when he may be manifested, we may have boldness, and may not be ashamed before him, in his presence;

if ye know that he is righteous, know ye that every one doing the righteousness, of him hath been begotten. (1 John 2:26-29, 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

"Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming."

A hinge verse. It closes the antichrist section and opens the discussion of God's children that runs through chapter 3. The imperative menete, abide, is the letter's characteristic word, used more than twenty times.

"Confidence." Parrēsia, the boldness of free speech, the same word used of prayer at 1 John 5:14 and of the day of judgment at 1 John 4:17. John's concern is not whether his readers will be present at Christ's appearing but how they will feel when they are, which is a pastoral rather than a forensic question.

"Shrink away in shame." Aischynthōmen ap' autou, be put to shame away from Him. The image is of turning aside from someone you cannot meet, and it is the exact opposite of parrēsia, which is speaking openly to someone's face.

"When He appears." Ean phanerōthē, using the same verb John used of the first appearing at 1 John 1:2 and 1 John 3:8. The letter treats the incarnation and the return as two manifestations of the same person, and 1 John 3:2 draws the consequence: "when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."

Abiding as the means. John's answer to eschatological anxiety is not certainty about dates but continuance in relationship. The same pastoral logic governs the whole letter.

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.

G3952 - parousia, parousia, Strong's G3952

Quoted in

Lexicon:

G3952 - parousia

Passages:

1 John 5.14

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.