OET interlinear 1YHN (1JHN) 4:6

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ἡμεῖς & ἡμῶν & ἡμῶν

we & ˱from˲_us & ˱from˲_us

The pronouns We and us in the first three sentences of this verse are probably exclusive, and so if your language marks that distinction, we recommend using the exclusive form in your translation. John appears to be speaking here of himself and his fellow eyewitnesses of the resurrection as teachers of the truth about Jesus. He has already said that the believers to whom he is writing are from God in 4:4.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐσμεν

we of ¬the God are

Here, from God could mean: (1) that John and his fellow eyewitnesses teach the truth about Jesus because God has sent them to do that. Alternate translation: God has sent us] (2) the same thing as it does in [4:4 and in 4:1–3. Alternate translation: [We belong to God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐσμεν

we of ¬the God are

If you have decided that We are from God means “God has sent us,” and if it would be helpful to your readers, either here or in a footnote you could state explicitly what God has sent John and the other eyewitnesses to do. Alternate translation: [God has sent us to teach the truth about Jesus as eyewitnesses to his life on earth]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ὁ γινώσκων τὸν Θεὸν

the_‹one› knowing ¬the God

As in 2:3–4, John is using the word knowing in a specific sense. See how you translated it there. Alternate translation: [Anyone who has a close relationship with God]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἀκούει ἡμῶν & οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν

/is/_hearing ˱from˲_us & not /is/_hearing ˱from˲_us & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐσμεν ὁ γινώσκων τὸν Θεὸν ἀκούει ἡμῶν ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης)

As in 4:5, the word listens is an idiom that means “believes” or “is persuaded by.” Alternate translation: [believes what we teach … does not believe what we teach]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ

whoever not is of ¬the God

The expression from God means the same thing in this verse as in 4:4. See how you translated it there. Alternate translation: [Whoever does not belong to God] or [Whoever is not living in relationship with God]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν

of of by this ˱we˲_/are/_knowing

This is an idiomatic expression. It means the same thing as the expression “in this we know” which John uses several times in this letter. Alternate translation: [This is how we can recognize]

Note 8 topic: writing-pronouns

ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν

of of by this ˱we˲_/are/_knowing

Here, this refers back to what John has just written in the previous two sentences. We can know if someone is teaching a true message if it agrees with what John and the other apostles teach, and that it is a false message if it does not. John may have intended for this to also include what he said in 4:2–3.

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

γινώσκομεν

˱we˲_/are/_knowing

In the last sentence of this verse, John is once again speaking of himself and the believers to whom he is writing. If your language has an inclusive form of we, then use that in your translation here. This inclusive usage continues through 4:13.

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης

the spirit ¬the ˱of˲_truth and the spirit ¬the ˱of˲_deception

See the discussion of the word spirit in the General Notes to this chapter. In these instances, the word may refer to: (1) spirits that inspire messages of a certain kind. In this case, the spirit of truth would refer to God’s Spirit, and the spirit of error would refer to the devil. These would also be what John refers to as “the one in you” and “the one in the world” in 4:4. See the UST. (2) the character of something. In this case, John would be using spirit to refer to people whose teaching has a certain character. Alternate translation: [whose teaching is true and whose teaching is false]

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης

the spirit ¬the ˱of˲_truth and the spirit ¬the ˱of˲_deception

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract nouns truth and error with the adjectives “true” and “false.” Alternate translation: [the spirit whose messages are true and the spirit whose messages are false]