Bible in 90 Days

True Wisdom

¹³ Is there anyone among you who is truly wise and understanding? Then he should show his wisdom by living right. He should do good things without being proud. A wise person does not brag. ¹⁴ But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. ¹⁵ That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. ¹⁶ Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. Then it is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. ¹⁸ When people work for peace in a peaceful way, they receive the good result of their right living.

Give Yourselves to God

4 Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. ² You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people. But you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You do not get what you want because you do not ask God. ³ Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things only so that you can use them for your own pleasures.

⁴ So, you people are not loyal to God! You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. So if a person wants to be a friend of the world, he makes himself God’s enemy. ⁵ Do you think the Scripture means nothing? It says, “The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone.”^{[a] 6} But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says,

⁷ So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run away from you. ⁸ Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You are sinners. So clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. ⁹ Be sad, cry, and weep! Change your laughter into crying. Change your joy into sadness. ¹⁰ Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will honor you.

You Are Not the Judge

¹¹ Brothers, do not say bad things about each other. If you say bad things about your brother in Christ or judge him, then you are saying bad things about the law he follows. You are also judging the law he follows. And when you are judging the law, you are not a follower of the law. You have become a judge! ¹² God is the only One who makes laws, and he is the only Judge. He is the only One who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge your neighbor.

Let God Plan Your Life

¹³ Some of you say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.” ¹⁴ But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. ¹⁵ So you should say, “If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you are proud and you brag. All of this bragging is wrong. ¹⁷ And when a person knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, then he is sinning.

A Warning to the Rich

5 You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because of the trouble that will come to you. ² Your riches will rot, and your clothes will be eaten by moths. ³ Your gold and silver will rust, and rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days. ⁴ Men worked in your fields, but you did not pay them. They harvested your crops and are crying out against you. Now the Lord of heaven’s armies has heard their cries. ⁵ Your life on earth was full of rich living. You pleased yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed. ⁶ You showed no mercy to the innocent man. You murdered him. He cannot stand against you.

Be Patient

⁷ Brothers, be patient until the Lord comes again. A farmer is patient. He waits for his valuable crop to grow from the earth. He waits patiently for it to receive the first rain and the last rain. ⁸ You, too, must be patient. Do not give up hope. The Lord is coming soon. ⁹ Brothers, do not complain against each other. If you do not stop complaining, you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come! ¹⁰ Brothers, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They suffered many hard things, but they were patient. ¹¹ We say they are happy because they were able to do this. You have heard about Job’s patience. You know that after all his trouble, the Lord helped him. This shows that the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.

Be Careful What You Say

¹² My brothers, it is very important that you not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only “yes.” When you mean no, say only “no.” Do this so that you will not be judged guilty.

The Power of Prayer

¹³ If one of you is having troubles, he should pray. If one of you is happy, he should sing praises. ¹⁴ If one of you is sick, he should call the church’s elders. The elders should pour oil on him^[b] in the name of the Lord and pray for him. ¹⁵ And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will heal him. And if he has sinned, God will forgive him. ¹⁶ Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. When a good man prays, great things happen. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! ¹⁸ Then Elijah prayed again. And the rain came down from the sky, and the land grew crops again.

Saving a Soul

¹⁹ My brothers, one of you may wander away from the truth. And someone may help him come back. ²⁰ Remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death. By doing this, that person will cause many sins to be forgiven.

Encouragement for Suffering Christians

1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes. You are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ² God the Father planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people. Making you holy is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be yours more and more.

A Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. He gave us a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from death. ⁴ Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty. ⁵ God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time. ⁶ This makes you very happy. But now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. ⁷ These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold. Gold can be proved to be pure by fire, but gold can be destroyed. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ comes again. ⁸ You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a joy that cannot be explained. And that joy is full of glory. ⁹ Your faith has a goal, to save your souls. And you are receiving that goal—your salvation.

¹⁰ The prophets searched carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you. ¹¹ The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. And the Spirit was telling about the sufferings that would happen to Christ and about the glory that would come after those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them. They tried to learn when those things would happen and what the world would be like at that time. ¹² It was shown to them that their service was not for themselves. It was for you. They were serving you when they told about the truths you have now heard. The men who preached the Good News to you told you those things. They did it with the help of the Holy Spirit that was sent from heaven. These are truths that even the angels want very much to know about.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes again. ¹⁴ In the past you did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. But now you are children of God who obey. So do not live as you lived in the past. ¹⁵ But be holy in all that you do, just as God is holy. God is the One who called you. ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”^[c]

¹⁷ You pray to God and call him Father. And this Father judges each man’s work equally. So while you are here on earth, you should live with respect for God. ¹⁸ You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way. You got that way of living from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, but not with something that ruins like gold or silver. ¹⁹ You were bought with the precious blood of the death of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. ²⁰ Christ was chosen before the world was made. But he was shown to the world in these last times for you. ²¹ You believe in God through Christ. God raised Christ from death and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.

²² Now you have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers. So love each other deeply with all your heart. ²³ You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s living message that continues forever. ²⁴ The Scripture says,

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Jesus Is the Living Stone

2 So then, get rid of all evil and all lying. Do not be a hypocrite. Do not be jealous or speak evil of others. Put all these things out of your life. ² As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can mature in your salvation. ³ For you have already examined and seen how good the Lord is.

⁴ The Lord Jesus is the “stone”^[d] that lives. The people of the world did not want this stone. But he was the stone God chose. To God he was worth much. So come to him. ⁵ You also are like living stones. Let yourselves be used to build a spiritual temple—to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God. He will accept those sacrifices through Jesus Christ. ⁶ The Scripture says:

⁷ This stone is worth much to you who believe. But to the people who do not believe, he is

⁸ To people who do not believe, he is

They stumble because they do not obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to them.

⁹ But you are chosen people. You are the King’s priests. You are a holy nation. You are a nation that belongs to God alone. God chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ At one time you were not God’s people. But now you are his people. In the past you had never received mercy. But now you have received God’s mercy.

Live for God

¹¹ Dear friends, you are like visitors and strangers in this world. So I beg you to stay away from the evil things your bodies want to do. These things fight against your soul. ¹² People who do not believe are living all around you. They might say that you are doing wrong. So live good lives. Then they will see the good things you do, and they will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.

Obey Every Human Authority

¹³ Obey the people who have authority in this world. Do this for the Lord. Obey the king, who is the highest authority. ¹⁴ And obey the leaders who are sent by the king. They are sent to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. ¹⁵ So when you do good, you stop foolish people from saying stupid things about you. This is what God wants. ¹⁶ Live as free men. But do not use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as servants of God. ¹⁷ Show respect for all people. Love the brothers and sisters of God’s family. Respect God. Honor the king.

Follow Christ’s Example

¹⁸ Slaves, accept the authority of your masters. Do this with all respect. You should obey masters who are good and kind, and you should obey masters who are bad. ¹⁹ A person might have to suffer even when he has done nothing wrong. But if he thinks of God and bears the pain, this pleases God. ²⁰ If you are punished for doing wrong, there is no reason to praise you for bearing punishment. But if you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then that pleases God. ²¹ That is what you were called to do. Christ suffered for you. He gave you an example to follow. So you should do as he did.

²³ People insulted Christ, but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but he did not threaten. He let God take care of him. God is the One who judges rightly. ²⁴ Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And we are healed because of his wounds. ²⁵ You were like sheep that went the wrong way. But now you have come back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Wives and Husbands

3 In the same way, you wives should accept the authority of your husbands. Then, if some husbands have not obeyed God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe. You will not need to say a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. ² Your husbands will see the pure lives that you live with your respect for God. ³ It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. ⁴ No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This beauty will never disappear, and it is worth very much to God. ⁵ It was the same with the holy women who lived long ago and followed God. They made themselves beautiful in this way. They accepted the authority of their husbands. ⁶ Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.

⁷ In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way. You should show respect to them. They are weaker than you. But God gives them the same blessing that he gives you—the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers.

Suffering for Doing Right

⁸ Finally, all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other as brothers. Be kind and humble. ⁹ Do not do wrong to a person to pay him back for doing wrong to you. Or do not insult someone to pay him back for insulting you. But ask God to bless that person. Do this, because you yourselves were called to receive a blessing. ¹⁰ The Scripture says,

¹³ If you are always trying to do good, no one can really hurt you. ¹⁴ But you may suffer for doing right. Even if that happens, you are blessed.

Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. ¹⁶ But answer in a gentle way and with respect. Always feel that you are doing right. Then, those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. ¹⁷ It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better, if that is what God wants. ¹⁸ Christ himself died for you. And that one death paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for those who are guilty. He did this to bring you all to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. ¹⁹ And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison. ²⁰ These were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. ²¹ That water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good heart. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from death. ²² Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side. He rules over angels, authorities, and powers.

Changed Lives

4 Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin. ² Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want. ³ In the past you wasted too much time doing what the non-believers like to do. You lived for the body and evil desires. You were getting drunk, you had wild and drunken parties, and you did wrong by worshiping idols. ⁴ Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they insult you. ⁵ But they will have to explain about what they have done. They must explain to God who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ The Good News was preached to those who are now dead. By their dying, they were judged like all men. But the Good News was preached to them so that they could live in the spirit as God lives.

Use God’s Gifts Wisely

⁷ The time is near when all things will end. So keep your minds clear, and control yourselves. Then you will be able to pray. ⁸ Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins. ⁹ Open your homes to each other, without complaining. ¹⁰ Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other. ¹¹ Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. The person who serves should serve with the strength that God gives. You should do these things so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering As a Christian

¹² My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith. So do not think that something strange is happening to you. ¹³ But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. ¹⁴ When people insult you because you follow Christ, then you are blessed. You are blessed because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. ¹⁵ Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. ¹⁶ But if you suffer because you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed. You should praise God because you wear that name. ¹⁷ It is time for judgment to begin, and it will begin with God’s family. If that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?

¹⁹ So then those who suffer as God wants them to should trust their souls to him. God is the One who made them, and they can trust him. So they should continue to do what is right.

The Flock of God

5 Now I have something to say to the elders in your group. I am also an elder. I myself have seen Christ’s sufferings. And I will share in the glory that will be shown to us. I beg you to ² take care of God’s flock, his people, that you are responsible for. Watch over it because you want to, not because you are forced to do it. That is how God wants it. Do it because you are happy to serve, not because you want money. ³ Do not be like a ruler over people you are responsible for. Be good examples to them. ⁴ Then when Christ, the Head Shepherd, comes, you will get a crown. This crown will be glorious, and it will never lose its beauty.

⁵ In the same way, younger men should be willing to be under older men. And all of you should be very humble with each other.

⁶ So be humble under God’s powerful hand. Then he will lift you up when the right time comes. ⁷ Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you.

⁸ Control yourselves and be careful! The devil is your enemy. And he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat. ⁹ Refuse to give in to the devil. Stand strong in your faith. You know that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are having the same sufferings you have.

¹⁰ Yes, you will suffer for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He will make you strong. He will support you and keep you from falling. He is the God who gives all grace. He called you to share in his glory in Christ. That glory will continue forever. ¹¹ All power is his forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹² I wrote this short letter with the help of Silas. I know that he is a faithful brother in Christ. I wrote to comfort and encourage you. I wanted to tell you that this is the true grace of God. Stand strong in that grace.

¹³ The church in Babylon sends you greetings. They were chosen the same as you. Mark, my son in Christ, also greets you. ¹⁴ Give each other a kiss of Christian love when you meet.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Correcting False Teachings

1 From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.

To you who have received a faith as valuable as ours. You received that faith because our God and Savior Jesus Christ is fair and does what is right.

² Grace and peace be given to you more and more. You will have grace and peace because you truly know God and Jesus our Lord.

God Has Given Us Blessings

³ Jesus has the power of God. His power has given us everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called us by his glory and goodness. ⁴ Through his glory and goodness, he gave us the very great and rich gifts he promised us. With those gifts you can share in God’s nature. And so the world will not ruin you with its evil desires.

⁵ Because you have these blessings, you should try as much as you can to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; ⁶ and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add the ability to hold on; and to your ability to hold on, add service for God; ⁷ and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. ⁸ If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you never to be useless. They will help your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ make your lives better. ⁹ But if anyone does not have these things, he cannot see clearly. He is blind. He has forgotten that he was made clean from his past sins.

¹⁰ My brothers, God called you and chose you to be his. Try hard to show that you really are God’s chosen people. If you do all these things, you will never fall. ¹¹ And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That kingdom continues forever.

¹² You know these things, and you are very strong in the truth. But I will always help you to remember these things. ¹³ I think it is right for me to help you remember while I am still living here on earth. ¹⁴ I know that I must soon leave this body. Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that. ¹⁵ I will try the best I can to help you remember these things always. I want you to be able to remember them even after I am gone.

We Saw Christ’s Glory

¹⁶ We have told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What we told you were not just smart stories that someone invented. But we saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes. ¹⁷ Jesus heard the voice of God, the Greatest Glory. That was when Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.” ¹⁸ We heard that voice. It came from heaven while we were with Jesus on the holy mountain.

¹⁹ This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave. And it is good for you to follow closely what they said. Their message is like a light shining in a dark place. That light shines until the day begins and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. ²¹ No prophecy ever came from what a man wanted to say. But men led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.

False Teachers

2 There used to be false prophets among God’s people, just as there are now. And you will have some false teachers in your group. They will secretly teach things that are wrong—teachings that will cause people to be lost. They will even refuse to accept the Master, Jesus, who bought their freedom. And so they will quickly destroy themselves. ² Many will follow their evil ways and say evil things about the Way of truth. ³ Those false teachers only want your money. So they will use you by telling you what is not true. But God has already judged them guilty. And they will not escape the One who will destroy them.

⁴ When angels sinned, God did not let them go free without punishment. God sent them to hell and put them in caves^[f] of darkness. They are being held there to be judged. ⁵ And God punished the evil people who lived long ago. He brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against him. But God saved Noah and seven other people with him. Noah was a man who preached about being right with God. ⁶ And God also punished the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.^[g] He burned those cities until there was nothing left but ashes. He made those cities an example to show what will happen to those who are against God. ⁷ But God saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a good man, was troubled because of the sinful behavior of evil people. ⁸ (Lot was a good man, but he lived with evil people every day. His good heart was hurt by the evil things that he saw and heard.) ⁹ And so the Lord knows how to save those who serve him. He will save them when troubles come. And the Lord will hold evil people and punish them, while waiting for the Judgment Day. ¹⁰ That punishment is especially for those who live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want, and for those who hate the Lord’s authority.

These false teachers do anything they want and brag about it. They are not afraid to say bad things about the glorious angels. ¹¹ The angels are much stronger and more powerful than false teachers. But even the angels do not accuse them with insults before^[h] the Lord. ¹² But these men say bad things about what they do not understand. They are like animals that act without thinking. These animals are born to be caught and killed. And, like wild animals, these false teachers will be destroyed. ¹³ They have caused many people to suffer; so they themselves will suffer. That is their pay for what they have done. They take pleasure in doing evil things openly. So they are like dirty spots and stains among you. They bring shame to you in the meals that you eat together. ¹⁴ Every time they look at a woman they want her. Their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into the trap of sin. They have taught their hearts to be selfish. God will punish them. ¹⁵ These false teachers left the right road and lost their way. They followed the way that Balaam went. Balaam was the son of Beor, who loved being paid for doing wrong. ¹⁶ But a donkey told Balaam that he was sinning. And the donkey is an animal that cannot talk. But the donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet’s crazy thinking.

¹⁷ Those false teachers are like rivers that have no water. They are like clouds blown by a storm. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them. ¹⁸ They brag with words that mean nothing. By their evil desires they lead people into the trap of sin. They lead away people who are just beginning to escape from other people who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are not free. They are slaves of things that will be destroyed. For a person is a slave of anything that controls him. ²⁰ They were made free from the evil in the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But if they return to evil things and those things control them, then it is worse for them than it was before. ²¹ Yes, it would be better for them to have never known the right way. That would be better than to know the right way and then to turn away from the holy teaching that was given to them. ²² What they did is like this true saying: “A dog eats what it throws up.”^[i] And, “After a pig is washed, it goes back and rolls in the mud.”

Jesus Will Come Again

3 My friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. I wrote both letters to you to help your honest minds remember something. ² I want you to remember the words that the holy prophets spoke in the past. And remember the command that our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles. ³ It is important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do. ⁴ They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died. But the world continues the way it has been since it was made.” ⁵ But they do not want to remember what happened long ago. God spoke and made heaven and earth. He made the earth from water and with water. ⁶ Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. ⁷ And that same word of God is keeping heaven and earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the Judgment Day and the destruction of all who are against God.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change his heart and life.

¹⁰ But the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the skies will be destroyed by fire. And the earth and everything in it will be exposed.^{[j] 11} In that way everything will be destroyed. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God. ¹² You should wait for the day of God and look forward to its coming. When that day comes, the skies will be destroyed with fire, and everything in the skies will melt with heat. ¹³ But God made a promise to us. And we are waiting for what he promised—a new heaven and a new earth where goodness lives.

¹⁴ Dear friends, we are waiting for this to happen. So try as hard as you can to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God. ¹⁵ Remember that we are saved because our Lord is patient. Our dear brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ Paul writes about this in all his letters. Sometimes there are things in Paul’s letters that are hard to understand. And some people explain these things falsely. They are ignorant and weak in faith. They also falsely explain the other Scriptures. But they are destroying themselves by doing that.

¹⁷ Dear friends, you already know about this. So be careful. Do not let those evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful so that you will not fall from your own strong faith. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and forever! Amen.

God Forgives Our Sins

We write to you about the Word^[k] that gives life. ² He who gives life was shown to us. We saw him, and we can give proof about it. And now we tell you that he has life that continues forever. The one who gives this life was with God the Father. God showed him to us. ³ Now we tell you what we have seen and heard because we want you to have fellowship with us. The fellowship we share together is with God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to you so that we may be full of joy.^[l]

⁵ Here is the message we have heard from God and now tell to you: God is light,^[m] and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ So if we say that we have fellowship with God, but we continue living in darkness, then we are liars. We do not follow the truth. ⁷ God is in the light. We should live in the light, too. If we live in the light, we share fellowship with each other. And when we live in the light, the blood of the death of Jesus, God’s Son, is making us clean from every sin.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. We can trust God. He does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrongs we have done. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, then we make God a liar. We do not accept God’s true teaching.

Jesus Is Our Helper

2 My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the Righteous One. He defends us before God the Father. ² Jesus died in our place to take away our sins. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too.

³ If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we truly know God. ⁴ If someone says, “I know God!” but does not obey God’s commands, then he is a liar. The truth is not in him. ⁵ But if someone obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in him. This is how we know that we are following God: ⁶ Whoever says that God lives in him must live as Jesus lived.

The Command to Love Others

⁷ My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. It is the teaching you have already heard. ⁸ But I am writing a new command to you. This command is true; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

⁹ Someone says, “I am in the light.”^[n] But if he hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him that will cause him to do wrong. ¹¹ But whoever hates his brother is in darkness. He lives in darkness and does not know where he is going. The darkness has made him blind.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ These are the evil things in the world: wanting things to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things comes from the Father. All of them come from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away. And everything that people want in the world is passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.

Reject the Enemies of Christ

¹⁸ My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near. ¹⁹ Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.

²⁰ You have the gift^[o] that the Holy One gave you. So you all know the truth.^{[p] 21} Why do I write to you? Do I write because you do not know the truth? No, I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.

²² So who is the liar? It is the person who says Jesus is not the Christ. A person who says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. He does not believe in the Father or in his Son. ²³ If anyone does not believe in the Son, he does not have the Father. But whoever accepts the Son has the Father, too.

²⁴ Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.

²⁶ I am writing this letter about those people who are trying to lead you the wrong way. ²⁷ Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you do not need any other teacher. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. This gift is true, not false. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.

²⁸ Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes back. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes. ²⁹ You know that Christ is righteous. So you know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

We Are God’s Children

3 The Father has loved us so much! He loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world do not understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is. ³ Christ is pure. And every person who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure like Christ.

⁴ When a person sins, he breaks God’s law. Yes, sinning is the same as living against God’s law. ⁵ You know that Christ came to take away sins. There is no sin in Christ. ⁶ So the person who lives in Christ does not go on sinning. If he goes on sinning, he has never really understood Christ and has never known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let any person lead you the wrong way. Christ is righteous. To be like Christ, a person must do what is right. ⁸ The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.

⁹ When God makes someone his child, that person does not go on sinning. The new life God gave that person stays in him. So he is not able to go on sinning, because he has become a child of God. ¹⁰ So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are. Those who do not do what is right are not children of God. And anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God.

We Must Love Each Other

¹¹ This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other. ¹² Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One. Cain killed his brother. He killed his brother because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were good.

¹³ Brothers, do not be surprised when the people of this world hate you. ¹⁴ We know that we have left death and have come into life. We know this because we love our brothers in Christ. Whoever does not love is still in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.^[q] And you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. ¹⁶ This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ Suppose a believer is rich enough to have all that he needs. He sees his brother in Christ who is poor and does not have what he needs. What if the believer does not help the poor brother? Then the believer does not have God’s love in his heart. ¹⁸ My children, our love should not be only words and talk. Our love must be true love. And we should show that love by what we do.

^19-20 This is the way we know that we belong to the way of truth. When our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God. God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

²¹ My dear friends, if we do not feel that we are doing wrong, we can be without fear when we come to God. ²² And God gives us the things we ask for. We receive these things because we obey God’s commands, and we do what pleases him. ²³ This is what God commands: that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded. ²⁴ The person who obeys God’s commands lives in God. And God lives in him. How do we know that God lives in us? We know because of the Spirit whom God gave us.

Warning Against False Teachers

4 My dear friends, many false prophets are in the world now. So do not believe every spirit. But test the spirits to see if they are from God. ² This is how you can know God’s Spirit: One spirit says, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ who came to earth and became a man.” That Spirit is from God. ³ Another spirit refuses to say this about Jesus. That spirit is not from God but is the spirit of the Enemy of Christ. You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now he is already in the world.

⁴ My dear children, you belong to God. So you have defeated them because God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world. ⁵ And they belong to the world. What they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ But we are from God, and those who know God listen to us. But those who are not from God do not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit that is true and the spirit that is false.

Love Comes from God

⁷ Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. The person who loves has become God’s child and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. ¹⁰ True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. God sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins.

¹¹ That is how much God loved us, dear friends! So we also must love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us. If we love each other, God’s love has reached its goal. It is made perfect in us.

¹³ We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because God gave us his Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. That is what we teach. ¹⁵ If someone says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” then God lives in him. And he lives in God. ¹⁶ And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him. ¹⁷ If God’s love is made perfect in us, then we can be without fear on the day God judges us. We will be without fear, because in this world we are like him. ¹⁸ Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear. So love is not made perfect in the person who has fear.

¹⁹ We love because God first loved us. ²⁰ If someone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. He can see his brother, but he hates him. So he cannot love God, whom he has never seen. ²¹ And God gave us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Faith in the Son of God

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is God’s child. The person who loves the Father also loves the Father’s children. ² How do we know that we love God’s children? We know because we love God and we obey his commands. ³ Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us. ⁴ Everyone who is a child of God has the power to win against the world. It is our faith that wins the victory against the world. ⁵ So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶ Jesus Christ is the One who came with water^[r] and with blood.^[s] He did not come by water only. He came by both water and blood. And the Spirit says that this is true. The Spirit is the truth. ⁷ So there are three witnesses:^{[t] 8} the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three witnesses agree. ⁹ We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important. And he has told us the truth about his own Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar. He does not believe what God told us about his Son. ¹¹ This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life. But the person who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

We Have Eternal Life Now

¹³ I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God. I write so that you will know that you have eternal life now. ¹⁴ We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), then God cares about what we say. ¹⁵ God listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us the things that we ask from him.

¹⁶ Suppose someone sees his brother in Christ sinning (sin that does not lead to eternal death). That person should pray for his brother who is sinning. Then God will give the brother life. I am talking about people whose sin does not lead to eternal death. There is sin that leads to death. I do not mean that a person should pray about that sin. ¹⁷ Doing wrong is always sin. But there is sin that does not lead to eternal death.

¹⁸ We know that anyone who is God’s child does not continue to sin. The Son of God keeps him safe, and the Evil One cannot hurt him. ¹⁹ We know that we belong to God. But the Evil One controls the whole world. ²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. Now we can know God, the One who is true. And our lives are in that true God and in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God, and he is eternal life. ²¹ So, dear children, keep yourselves away from false gods.

Do Not Help False Teachers

¹ From the Elder.^[u]

To the chosen lady^[v] and to her children:

I love all of you in the truth.^[w] Also, all those who know the truth love you. ² We love you because of the truth—the truth that lives in us and will be with us forever.

³ Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ. And may we have these blessings in truth and love.

⁴ I was very happy to learn about some of your children. I am happy that they are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I tell you: We should all love each other. This is not a new command. It is the same command we have had from the beginning. ⁶ And loving means living the way he commanded us to live. And God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You have heard this command from the beginning.

⁷ Many false teachers are in the world now. They refuse to say that Jesus Christ came to earth and became a man. Anyone who refuses to say this is a false teacher and an enemy of Christ. ⁸ Be careful! Do not lose the reward that you^[x] have worked for. Be careful, so that you will receive your full reward.

⁹ A person must continue to follow only the teaching of Christ. If he goes beyond Christ’s teaching, then he does not have God. But if he continues following the teaching of Christ, then he has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If someone comes to you, but does not bring this teaching, then do not accept him into your house. Do not welcome him. ¹¹ If you accept him, you are helping him with his evil work.

¹² I have much to say to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come visit you. Then we can be together and talk. That will make us very happy. ¹³ The children of your chosen sister^[y] send you their love.

Help Christians Who Teach Truth

¹ From the Elder.^[z]

To my dear friend Gaius whom I love in the truth:^[aa]

² My dear friend, I know your soul is doing well. I pray that you are doing fine in every way and that your health is good. ³ Some brothers in Christ came and told me about the truth in your life. They said that you are following the way of truth. This made me very happy. ⁴ It always gives me the greatest joy when I hear that my children are following the way of truth.

⁵ My dear friend, it is good that you continue to help the brothers. You are helping those that you do not even know! ⁶ These brothers told the church about the love you have. Please help them to continue their trip. Help them in a way that will please God. ⁷ They started out on their trip to serve Christ. They did not accept any help from those who are not believers. ⁸ So we should help these brothers. And when we do, we share in their work for the truth.

⁹ I wrote a letter to the church. But Diotrephes will not listen to what we say. He always wants to be their leader. ¹⁰ When I come, I will talk about what Diotrephes is doing. He lies and says evil things about us. But that is not all he does. He refuses to help those who are working to serve Christ. He also stops those who want to help the brothers and puts them out of the church.

¹¹ My dear friend, do not follow what is bad; follow what is good. He who does what is good is from God. But he who does evil has never known God.

¹² Everyone says good things about Demetrius. And the truth agrees with what they say. Also, we say good about him. And you know that what we say is true.

¹³ I have many things I want to tell you, but I do not want to use pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope to visit you soon. Then we can be together and talk. ¹⁵ Peace to you. The friends here with me send their love. Please give our love to each one of the friends there.