OET interlinear 1YHN (1JHN) 3:12

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

οὐ καθὼς Κάϊν

not as Cain

John is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages in order to be complete. Alternate translation: “so we should not be like Cain”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Κάϊν & ἔσφαξεν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ

Cain & slayed the brother ˱of˲_him

John assumes that his readers will know that Cain was a son of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. As the book of Genesis describes, Cain was jealous of his younger brother Abel and murdered him. If your readers might not know this, you could express this explicitly in a footnote or by putting the names of his parents and brother in the text. Alternate translation: “Cain, the son of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, … murdered his younger brother Abel”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν

of the evil_‹one› was

This is similar to the phrase “from the devil” in 3:8. See how you translated that phrase. Alternate translation: “who belonged to the evil one” or “who was influenced by the evil one”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

τοῦ πονηροῦ

the evil_‹one›

John is using the adjective evil as a noun in order to indicate a specific being. ULT adds one to show this. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this with an equivalent expression. Alternate translation: “the one who is evil”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τοῦ πονηροῦ

the evil_‹one›

John is speaking of the devil by association with the way that he is evil. Alternate translation: “the devil”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

καὶ χάριν τίνος ἔσφαξεν αὐτόν? ὅτι

and and for_reason_of what ˱he˲_slayed him because

John is using a question as a teaching tool. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question by translating his words as a statement. Alternate translation: “He killed him because”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, δίκαια

the the_‹ones› but ˱of˲_the brother ˱of˲_him righteous

John is leaving out a word, “were,” that a sentence would need in many languages in order to be complete. The word “were” can be supplied for clarity. Alternate translation: “but his brother’s works were righteous”