Passage
1 John 3.19-21
Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.
Sponsored
Brands, events, influencers advertise here
ASV
17. But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him? 18. My Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.
19. Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him: 20. because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God;
- and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. 23. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3:17-23, ASV)
WEB
17. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him? 18. My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.
19. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and persuade our hearts before him, 20. because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21. Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God;
- and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. 23. This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded. (1 John 3:17-23, WEB)
KJV
17. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. assure: Gr. persuade 20. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
- And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3:17-23, KJV)
YLT
17. and whoever may have the goods of the world, and may view his brother having need, and may shut up his bowels from him, how doth the love of God remain in him? 18. My little children, may we not love in word nor in tongue, but in word and in truth!
19. and in this we know that of the truth we are, and before Him we shall assure our hearts, 20. because if our heart may condemn, because greater is God than our heart, and He doth know all things. 21. Beloved, if our heart may not condemn us, we have boldness toward God,
- and whatever we may ask, we receive from Him, because His commands we keep, and the things pleasing before Him we do, 23. and this is His command, that we may believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and may love one another, even as He did give command to us, (1 John 3:17-23, YLT)
See this page's graph and discover linked topics
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
"We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things."
The most pastorally important passage in the letter. John has just spent a chapter giving tests, and he now turns to the reader those tests have crushed. The letter is written for assurance (1 John 5:13), and this paragraph is where he addresses the person for whom the evidence does not feel like enough.
"Whatever our heart condemns us." Kardia is the seat of the whole inner person, and kataginōskē is a judicial verb, to find against. John concedes that the Christian conscience can and does return a guilty verdict.
"God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." The clause is capable of two readings, and both are defended. On the comforting reading, God knows more than the accusing conscience does, including His own work in the believer, so His greater knowledge overrules the verdict; this is the majority reading and fits the paragraph's stated aim of assuring the heart. On the sobering reading, God knows more than the self-excusing conscience does, so His greater knowledge is a warning. The context, "we will assure our heart", favors the first.
Verse 21 completes it. "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God." John does not tell the condemned heart to ignore itself; he tells it that its verdict is not the final one, and points past it to God's omniscience as a mercy rather than a threat.
See Soteriology (Salvation) and Doubt and Fear.
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.
- G0225 - aletheia, aletheia, Strong's G0225
- G2588 - kardia, kardia, Strong's G2588
- G1097 - ginosko, ginosko, Strong's G1097
- G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314
- G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
- G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
Passages:
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.