What was ^afrom the beginning, what we have ^bheard, what we have ^cseen with our eyes, what we ^dhave looked at and ^etouched with our hands, concerning the ^fWord of Life— 2 and ^athe life was manifested, and we have ^bseen and ^ctestify and proclaim to you ^dthe eternal life, which was ^ewith the Father and was ^fmanifested to us— 3 what we have ^aseen and ^bheard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our ^cfellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 ^aThese things we write, so that our ^bjoy may be made complete.

5 ^aThis is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that ^bGod is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 ^aIf we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^blie and ^cdo not practice the truth; 7 but if we ^awalk in the Light as ^bHe Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^cthe blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 ^aIf we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the ^btruth is not in us. 9 ^aIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and ^bto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 ^aIf we say that we have not sinned, we ^bmake Him a liar and ^cHis word is not in us.

I am writing about what existed ^afrom the beginning, what ¹we have ^bheard, what we have ^cseen with our eyes, what we ^dhave looked at and ^etouched with our hands, concerning the ^fWord of Life the One who existed even before the beginning of the world, Christ— 2 and ^athe Life an aspect of His being was manifested, and we have ^bseen it as eyewitnesses and ^ctestify and declare to you the Life, ^dthe eternal Life who was already existing ^ewith the Father and was actually ^fmade visible to us His followers— 3 what we have ^aseen and ^bheard we also proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship as partners with us. And indeed our ^cfellowship which is a distinguishing mark of born-again believers is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 ^aWe are writing these things to you so that our ^bjoy in seeing you included may be made complete by having you share in the joy of salvation.

5 ^aThis is the message of God’s promised revelation which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that ^bGod is Light He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness, and in Him there is no darkness at all no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection. 6 ^aIf we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness of sin, we ^blie and ^cdo not practice the truth; 7 but if we really ^awalk in the Light that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God, as ^bHe Himself is in the Light, we have true, unbroken fellowship with one another He with us, and we with Him, and ^cthe blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations. 8 ^aIf we say we have no sin refusing to admit that we are sinners, we delude ourselves and the ^btruth is not in us. His word does not live in our hearts. 9 ^aIf we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just true to His own nature and promises, and will forgive our sins and ^bcleanse us continually from all unrighteousness our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose. 10 ^aIf we say that we have not sinned refusing to admit acts of sin, we ^bmake Him out to be a liar by contradicting Him and ^cHis word is not in us.