Open Bible Data Home  About  News  OET Key

OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search

InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV

1 Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5

1 Yhn 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29

OET interlinear 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2:21

◄ ← 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2:21 ↓ → ► ║ ©

SR Greek word order

    1. Greek word
    2. Greek lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. Οὐκ
    2. ou
    3. not
    4. didn't don't
    5. 37560
    6. C·······
    7. not
    8. not
    9. S
    10. Y90
    11. 152430
    1. ἔγραψα
    2. grafō
    3. I wrote
    4. -
    5. 11250
    6. VIAA1··S
    7. ˱I˲ wrote
    8. ˱I˲ wrote
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152431
    1. ὑμῖν
    2. su
    3. to you all
    4. -
    5. 47710
    6. R···2D·P
    7. ˱to˲ you_all
    8. ˱to˲ you_all
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152366
    11. 152432
    1. ὅτι
    2. hoti
    3. because
    4. -
    5. 37540
    6. C·······
    7. because
    8. because
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152433
    1. οὐκ
    2. ou
    3. not
    4. -
    5. 37560
    6. D·······
    7. not
    8. not
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152434
    1. οἴδατε
    2. eidō
    3. you all have known
    4. -
    5. 14920
    6. VIEA2··P
    7. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    8. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152366
    11. 152435
    1. τήν
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····AFS
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152436
    1. ἀλήθειαν
    2. alētheia
    3. truth
    4. -
    5. 2250
    6. N····AFS
    7. truth
    8. truth
    9. -
    10. Y90; F152441
    11. 152437
    1. ἀλλʼ
    2. alla
    3. but
    4. -
    5. 2350
    6. C·······
    7. but
    8. but
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152438
    1. ὅτι
    2. hoti
    3. because
    4. -
    5. 37540
    6. C·······
    7. because
    8. because
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152439
    1. οἴδατε
    2. eidō
    3. you all have known
    4. -
    5. 14920
    6. VIEA2··P
    7. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    8. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152366
    11. 152440
    1. αὐτήν
    2. autos
    3. it
    4. -
    5. 8460
    6. R···3AFS
    7. it
    8. it
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152437
    11. 152441
    1. καί
    2. kai
    3. and
    4. but
    5. 25320
    6. C·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152442
    1. ὅτι
    2. hoti
    3. because
    4. -
    5. 37540
    6. C·······
    7. because
    8. because
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152443
    1. παν
    2. pas
    3. any
    4. -
    5. 39560
    6. E····NNS
    7. any
    8. any
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152444
    1. ψεῦδος
    2. pseudos
    3. falsehood
    4. falsehood
    5. 55790
    6. N····NNS
    7. falsehood
    8. falsehood
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152445
    1. ἐκ
    2. ek
    3. of
    4. -
    5. 15370
    6. P·······
    7. of
    8. of
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152446
    1. τῆς
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····GFS
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152447
    1. ἀληθείας
    2. alētheia
    3. truth
    4. -
    5. 2250
    6. N····GFS
    7. truth
    8. truth
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152448
    1. οὐκ
    2. ou
    3. not
    4. -
    5. 37560
    6. D·······
    7. not
    8. not
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152449
    1. ἐστίν
    2. eimi
    3. is
    4. -
    5. 15100
    6. VIPA3··S
    7. is
    8. is
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152450

OET (OET-LV) I_ not _wrote to_you_all because you_all_have_ not _known the truth, but because you_all_have_known it, and because any falsehood is not of the truth.

OET (OET-RV) I didn’t write to you all because you don’t know the truth, but because you have known the truth and any falsehood is not part of it.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:5–2:27: Live pure lives and remain united with God

Read 1:5–2:27 carefully.

Section Theme: In this section John is appealing to his readers to live morally pure lives and to remain united with God. He gives the following reasons for this:

1:5–2:2

God has made it possible for us to be morally pure just as he is.

2:3–11

We ought to love our fellow Christians as Christ did.

2:12–27

The readers ought not to love the non-Christian world but they should live according to the truth that God has shown to them.

Paragraph 2:18–21

Read 2:18–21 in both BSB and GNT. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: In these verses John reassures his readers that they have received the Holy Spirit, and so they know God’s truth. In this way they are different from the false teachers.

2:21a

I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth,

(GNT:) then: (Logical Relationship) Having stated that his readers have knowledge, John points out that this shows he is confident of their true faith in Christ (as in 2:12–14). GNT and LB make this connection explicit.

I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of: (Sentence Breaks) John is telling his readers not to think that the reason for his writing to them is that he considers them ignorant of the truth. Notice that this statement contains two negatives, which may make it unclear in translation. It may therefore be better to make it a separate sentence from 2:21b–c and make the reasoning more explicit. See the Display. Or it could be translated using a rhetorical question:

Am I writing to you because I think that you do not know the truth? No. It is not because of that. I am sure that you know the truth.

2:21b

but because you have it,

2:21b–c

(RSV:) because you know it, and you know that…: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different interpretations as to how 2:21b and 2:21c relate to each other:

  1. John is probably saying that his readers know two things, firstly, the truth, and secondly, that no lie comes from it. (KJV, RSV, GNT, JB)

  2. Some think he is only mentioning one thing they know (the truth) and then he gives another reason for his writing, namely that no lie comes from the truth. (BSB, NEB)

2:21c

and because no lie comes from the truth.

comes from: (Metaphor) To say that a lie comes from something abstract like truth is a metaphor, which may not be natural in your language. The basic meaning to be translated here is that truth and lies are totally different, so it is impossible for wrong beliefs (lies) to be part of God’s truth.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives

οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλ’ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν

not not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν καί ὅτι παν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐστίν)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this double negative by translating it as a positive statement. Since John then repeats the statement in positive form in the next phrase, you could make the connection to that phrase as an affirmation rather than as a contrast. Alternate translation: [I have written to you because you know the truth, yes, because you do know it]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλ’ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν

not not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν καί ὅτι παν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐστίν)

If saying I have not written to you seems wrong or confusing in your language, you could move the negative to the next clause. Alternate translation: [I have written to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you do know the truth] or [I have written to you not to inform you of the truth, but I have written to you because you already know it]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὴν ἀλήθειαν & ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν καί ὅτι παν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐστίν)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun truth with an adjective such as “true.” Alternate translation: [what is true … from what is true]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τὴν ἀλήθειαν & ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν καί ὅτι παν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐστίν)

John is likely referring to the teaching that believers have received from Jesus by association with the way that it is true. Alternate translation: [the true teaching that we received from Jesus … from this true teaching]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

καὶ ὅτι πᾶν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔστιν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν καί ὅτι παν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐστίν)

John is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages in order to be complete. These words can be supplied from earlier in the sentence. Alternate translation: [and you know that every lie is not from the truth]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives

πᾶν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔστιν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν καί ὅτι παν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐστίν)

If it would be clearer in your language, you could make the subject of this phrase negative and the verb positive. Alternate translation: [no lie is from the truth]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας

of the truth

This second occurrence of the truth could refer to: (1) The same as the first occurrence. Alternate translation: [part of God’s true message] (2) God, who is the source of all truth. Alternate translation: [from God, the One who is true]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Greek word
    5. Greek lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. I
    2. -
    3. 11250
    5. grafō
    6. V-IAA1··S
    7. ˱I˲ wrote
    8. ˱I˲ wrote
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152431
    1. not
    2. didn't don't
    3. 37560
    4. S
    5. ou
    6. C-·······
    7. not
    8. not
    9. S
    10. Y90
    11. 152430
    1. wrote
    2. -
    3. 11250
    5. grafō
    6. V-IAA1··S
    7. ˱I˲ wrote
    8. ˱I˲ wrote
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152431
    1. to you all
    2. -
    3. 47710
    5. su
    6. R-···2D·P
    7. ˱to˲ you_all
    8. ˱to˲ you_all
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152366
    11. 152432
    1. because
    2. -
    3. 37540
    5. hoti
    6. C-·······
    7. because
    8. because
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152433
    1. you all have
    2. -
    3. 14920
    5. eidō
    6. V-IEA2··P
    7. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    8. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152366
    11. 152435
    1. not
    2. -
    3. 37560
    5. ou
    6. D-·······
    7. not
    8. not
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152434
    1. known
    2. -
    3. 14920
    5. eidō
    6. V-IEA2··P
    7. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    8. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152366
    11. 152435
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····AFS
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152436
    1. truth
    2. -
    3. 2250
    5. alētheia
    6. N-····AFS
    7. truth
    8. truth
    9. -
    10. Y90; F152441
    11. 152437
    1. but
    2. -
    3. 2350
    5. alla
    6. C-·······
    7. but
    8. but
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152438
    1. because
    2. -
    3. 37540
    5. hoti
    6. C-·······
    7. because
    8. because
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152439
    1. you all have known
    2. -
    3. 14920
    5. eidō
    6. V-IEA2··P
    7. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    8. ˱you_all˲ ˓have˒ known
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152366
    11. 152440
    1. it
    2. -
    3. 8460
    5. autos
    6. R-···3AFS
    7. it
    8. it
    9. -
    10. Y90; R152437
    11. 152441
    1. and
    2. but
    3. 25320
    5. kai
    6. C-·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152442
    1. because
    2. -
    3. 37540
    5. hoti
    6. C-·······
    7. because
    8. because
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152443
    1. any
    2. -
    3. 39560
    5. pas
    6. E-····NNS
    7. any
    8. any
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152444
    1. falsehood
    2. falsehood
    3. 55790
    5. pseudos
    6. N-····NNS
    7. falsehood
    8. falsehood
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152445
    1. is
    2. -
    3. 15100
    5. eimi
    6. V-IPA3··S
    7. is
    8. is
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152450
    1. not
    2. -
    3. 37560
    5. ou
    6. D-·······
    7. not
    8. not
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152449
    1. of
    2. -
    3. 15370
    5. ek
    6. P-·······
    7. of
    8. of
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152446
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····GFS
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152447
    1. truth
    2. -
    3. 2250
    5. alētheia
    6. N-····GFS
    7. truth
    8. truth
    9. -
    10. Y90
    11. 152448

OET (OET-LV) I_ not _wrote to_you_all because you_all_have_ not _known the truth, but because you_all_have_known it, and because any falsehood is not of the truth.

OET (OET-RV) I didn’t write to you all because you don’t know the truth, but because you have known the truth and any falsehood is not part of it.

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET logo mark

◄ ← 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2:21 ↑ → ► ║ ©