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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
1 Yhn 5 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21
OET (OET-LV) If we_are_receiving the testimony the of_humans, the testimony of_ the _god is greater, because this is the testimony of_ the _god, that he_has_testified concerning the son of_him.
OET (OET-RV) If we accept testimonies from people, then God’s testimony is better, because God’s testimony is about his son.
Read 4:7–5:12 carefully.
Section Theme: In this section John gives two reasons why we should love one another:
4:7–12 | God has shown us what true love is by sending his Son to die for us. |
4:13–21 | God has loved us so much that we have a duty to love others. |
At the end of the section, in 5:1–12, he shows how it is believing in Jesus that enables us to both love and obey God.
Read 5:6–9 in both BSB and GNT. Compare the two versions.
Paragraph Theme: In 5:5 John has talked about believing that Jesus is the Son of God. In 5:6–9 he explains why we should believe in Jesus as the son of God.
Even if we accept human testimony,
When people tell about things which they know, we(incl) believe them.
Even if we accept human testimony: (Meaning) John is giving this as a general example to prove his point. He is saying that people normally accept what others tell them about what they have seen, therefore people should accept what God says about his Son. See the Display.
the testimony of God is greater.
So we(incl) should accept these things which God shows us, because whatever God tells us is much more important/trustworthy than what people tell us.
greater: (Lexical Problem) Although it is not specified in what respect God’s testimony is greater than man’s testimony, it is clear from the rest of the verse that John means that it is more worthy of acceptance.
For this is the testimony
It is much more important because he is God not just a human being,
For: (Logical Relationship) John gives two reasons why God’s testimony is greater: firstly, it is God, not a man, who is giving it, and secondly, it is about God’s own Son, not about something else.
that God has given about His Son.
and because it is his own Son that he is telling us about.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact
εἰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τήν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν ὅτι αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅτι μεμαρτύρηκεν περί τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ)
John is speaking as if this were a hypothetical possibility, but he means that it is actually true. If your language does not state something this way if it is certain or true, and if your readers might think that what John is saying is not certain, then you could translate his words as an affirmative statement. Alternate translation: [Since we receive the testimony of men]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τήν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν ὅτι αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅτι μεμαρτύρηκεν περί τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ)
This is an idiom. Alternate translation: [we believe people when they give testimony]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
τῶν ἀνθρώπων
¬the ˱of˲_humans
Although the term men is masculine, John is using the word in a generic sense that could include both men and women. Alternate translation: [of people]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν
the testimony ¬the ˱of˲_God greater is
The word greater implicitly means that the testimony of God is more reliable than human testimony since God knows everything and God always tells the truth. Alternate translation: [the testimony of God is more reliable]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν
the testimony ¬the ˱of˲_God greater is
John is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages in order to be complete. These words can be supplied from the previous phrase. Alternate translation: [we should certainly receive the testimony of God since it is greater] or [we should certainly believe God when he gives testimony since his testimony is even more reliable]
Note 6 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι μεμαρτύρηκεν περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ
because this that (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τήν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν ὅτι αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅτι μεμαρτύρηκεν περί τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ)
Here, For could be introducing: (1) the content of God’s testimony to his Son. In that case, the content itself comes in [5:11](../05/11.md) after he repeats, “this is the testimony.” Verse 10 talks about the importance of believing God’s testimony. Alternate translation: [Now this is the testimony that God himself has given regarding his Son] (2) the reason why the testimony of God is greater than human testimony. Alternate translation: [After all, this is God who has told us about his own Son]
Note 7 topic: writing-pronouns
αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ
this (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τήν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν ὅτι αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅτι μεμαρτύρηκεν περί τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ)
Here, this could refer to: (1) God’s testimony, which John says in [5:11](../05/11.md). Alternate translation: [I will tell you what God’s testimony is] (2) the three testimonies from [5:8](../05/08.md). Alternate translation: [those things are the testimony of God]
Note 8 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples
τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ
¬the ¬the the Son ˱of˲_him
Son is an important title for Jesus. Alternate translation: [his Son Jesus]
OET (OET-LV) If we_are_receiving the testimony the of_humans, the testimony of_ the _god is greater, because this is the testimony of_ the _god, that he_has_testified concerning the son of_him.
OET (OET-RV) If we accept testimonies from people, then God’s testimony is better, because God’s testimony is about his son.
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.