OET interlinear 1YHN (1JHN) 2:4

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo

ὁ λέγων, ὅτι ἔγνωκα αὐτὸν, καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ μὴ τηρῶν, ψεύστης ἐστίν

the_‹one› saying ¬that ˱I˲_/have/_known him and the commandments ˱of˲_him not keeping /a/_liar is

John is describing a hypothetical situation in order to challenge his readers. Alternate translation: [Suppose someone says, ‘I have a close relationship with God,’ but he does not obey what God has commanded. Then that person is a liar]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

ὁ λέγων

the_‹one› saying

By one, John does not have a specific person in mind. He means anyone who says this. Alternate translation: [Anyone who says] or [The person who says]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἔγνωκα αὐτὸν

˱I˲_/have/_known him

As in the second instance in 2:3, John is using the word know in the sense of knowing someone by personal experience. Alternate translation: [I am living in close relationship with God]

Note 4 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτὸν & αὐτοῦ

him & ˱of˲_him

In this verse, the pronouns him and his refer to God, the one who has given the commandments that people must obey. Alternate translation: [God … God’s]

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

καὶ

and

John is using the word and to introduce a contrast between what such a person might say and what his conduct actually indicates to be true. Alternate translation: [but]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

μὴ τηρῶν

not keeping

In this instance, the word keep is an idiom that means “obey.” Alternate translation: [does not obey] or [disobeys]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

ψεύστης ἐστίν, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν

/a/_liar is and in this_‹one› the truth not is

These two phrases mean similar things. John is likely using repetition for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [is certainly not speaking the truth]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν

and and in this_‹one› the truth not is

John is speaking of the truth as if it were an object that could be inside someone. See how you translated a similar expression in 1:8. Alternate translation: [and such a person is not speaking the truth]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν

and and in this_‹one› the truth not is

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: [and what such a person says is not true]