World English Bible · Under Rome
1 John 5
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Whoever believes that is the Christ has been born of . Whoever loves also loves the child who is born of him. By this we know that we love the children of , when we love and keep his . For this is loving , that we keep his . His are not grievous. For whatever is born of overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your . Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that is the Son of ? This is he who came by water and , ; not with the water only, but with the water and . It is who testifies, because is the truth. For there are three who testify: , the water, and ; and the three agree as one. If we receive the of men, the of is greater; for this is which he has testified concerning his Son. He who believes in the Son of has the in himself. He who doesn't has made him a liar, because he has not in the that has given concerning his Son. The is this: that gave to us , and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn't have Son doesn't have the life. These things I have written to you who in the name of the Son of , that you may know that you have , and that you may continue to in the name of the Son of . This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him. If anyone sees his brother sinning a not leading to , he shall ask, and will give him life for those who not leading to . There is leading to . I don't say that he should make a request concerning this. All unrighteousness is , and there is not leading to . We know that whoever is born of doesn't , but he who was born of keeps himself, and the evil one doesn't touch him. We know that we are of , and the whole world lies in the of the evil one. We know that the Son of has come and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son . This is the true and . Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- Can you know you are saved? · 1 John 5:13
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.