OET interlinear 1YHN (1JHN) 3:16

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην

by this ˱we˲_/have/_known ¬the love

In this we have known means something similar to the idiomatic expression “in this we know” that John uses many times in this letter. Alternate translation: “This is how we have come to understand what love is”

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

ἐκεῖνος

that_‹one›

The demonstrative pronoun that one refers to Jesus. Alternate translation: “Jesus”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν

for us the life ˱of˲_him laid

This is an idiom that means “died willingly for us.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use an idiom from your language that does have that meaning or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “willingly gave his life for us” or “sacrificed himself for us”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, τὰς ψυχὰς θεῖναι

and we ought for our brothers our lives /to/_lay

John is not saying that we should seek out ways to die for our fellow believers in a literal sense, but that we should be prepared to do so, if necessary. However, he is also using the expression lay down our lives to mean that we should seek ways to love our fellow believers in sacrificial ways, as he illustrates in the next verse.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τῶν ἀδελφῶν

our brothers

See how you translated the brothers in 2:9. Alternate translation: “our fellow believers”