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◄ ← 1 YHN (1 JHN) 3:6 ↓ → ► ║ ©
OET (OET-LV) Everyone which remaining in him is_ not _sinning, everyone which sinning has_ neither _seen him, nor has_known him.
OET (OET-RV) Everyone who remains in him doesn’t sin—everyone who keeps sinning has neither really seen Yeshua nor known him.
Read 2:28–4:6 carefully.
Section Theme: In this section (after the main theme in 2:28–29), John is saying that in order not to be ashamed when we meet Christ we must do the following:
3:1–10 | We should live pure and righteous lives as Christ did. |
3:11–18 | We should love and help our fellow Christians. |
3:19–24 | We should obey God’s commands to believe in his Son and to love one another. |
4:1–6 | We should carefully test what teachers say so that we know whether they are speaking for the Holy Spirit. |
Read 3:4–6 in both BSB and GNT. Compare the two versions.
Paragraph Theme: These verses show that it is impossible to continue sinning and at the same time remain in union with Christ.
This verse is the conclusion which John draws from what he has said in 3:4–5. This connection may need to be made clear by a joining word such as “so/therefore” (GNT, NEB, LB). See the Display.
No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning.
Therefore it is clear that when a person remains united with Christ, he ought not to sin continually.
keeps on sinning: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different interpretations of the tense of the Greek verb used here:
It probably means “should not be continually/habitually sinning.” (BSB, NIV, GNT, LB, JBP)
Some think it means “should not commit any sin.” (JB, RSV, KJV)
in Him: (Collocation) As in 2:5, this is John’s way of talking about a close personal relationship and union with God. See the note on 2:5c.
No one who continues to sin
But if a person is continually sinning
continues to sin: (Meaning) This means the same as “keeps on sinning” in 3:6a.
has seen Him or known Him.
it is clear that he does not understand who Christ is, and he does not know Christ at all.
seen: (Metaphor) This does not refer to literal “seeing,” since most Christians have never seen Christ with their eyes. It is a metaphor for understanding or recognizing Christ for who he is, the Son of God.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων
everyone ¬which (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν οὐδέ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν)
See the discussion of the term “remain” in Part 3 of the Introduction to 1 John. In this instance, it seems to mean the same thing as in [2:6](../02/06.md). See how you translated it there. Alternate translation: [Everyone who has a close relationship with Jesus]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων
everyone ¬which (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν οὐδέ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν)
John is speaking as if believers could be inside of Jesus. Alternate translation: [Everyone who has a close relationship with Jesus]
Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns
αὐτῷ & αὐτὸν & αὐτόν
him & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν οὐδέ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν)
The pronoun him refers to Jesus in this verse. Consider whether it might be helpful to your readers or more natural in your language to use the name “Jesus” in one or more of these instances.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει
not ˓is˒_sinning
If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state what this implicitly means in light of the situation that John is addressing in this letter. See the discussion of “sin” in Part 3 of the Introduction to 1 John. John acknowledges elsewhere in this letter that genuine believers actually do sin, but they do not sin continually or wantonly. Alternate translation: [does not sin wantonly or continually]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν, οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν
not neither ˓has˒_seen (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν οὐδέ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν)
The words seen and known mean similar things. John is likely using repetition for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these terms into a single expression. Alternate translation: [certainly does not have a close relationship with Jesus]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν
not neither ˓has˒_seen (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν οὐδέ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν)
John is not referring to people literally seeing Jesus. Rather, he is using sight to mean perception and recognition. Alternate translation: [has not recognized who Jesus is]
3:6 continues to live in him (Greek menō): This indicates “abiding” and “remaining” (John 15:1-8) in contrast to departing into falsehood. To the extent that we live in continual, dependent fellowship with Christ and in faithfulness to the apostles’ teachings, we will not sin.
• keeps on sinning: This verb denotes sin as an ongoing, repeated action. John was not saying that anyone who sins once does not know God (i.e., has no relationship with God). But if we persist in sin, we demonstrate a lack of relationship with God.
OET (OET-LV) Everyone which remaining in him is_ not _sinning, everyone which sinning has_ neither _seen him, nor has_known him.
OET (OET-RV) Everyone who remains in him doesn’t sin—everyone who keeps sinning has neither really seen Yeshua nor known him.
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.
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