1 John 3
1 [Think about] how much our [heavenly] Father loves us! He allows us to (say that we are/be called) his children! [And it is indeed true that] we are [his children. But people in] the world [MTY] [who are unbelievers] have not understood [who] God [is]. So they do not understand [who we are], that we [belong to God].
Monhwɛ ɔdɔ a Agya no dɔ yɛn. Ne dɔ a ɔdɔ yɛn no mu den enti wɔfrɛ yɛn Onyankopɔn mma. Na ɛyɛ nokorɛ nso. Ne saa enti ewiase nnim yɛn ɛfiri sɛ ɛnnim Onyankopɔn.
2 Dear friends, even though (at present/now) we are God’s children, [he] has not yet (made clear/revealed) [to us] what we will be like [in the future]. However, we know that when [Christ] comes back again, we will be like him, because we will see what he is [really] like.
Me nuanom, seesei yɛyɛ Onyankopɔn mma, nanso deɛ daakye yɛbɛyɛ deɛ, yɛnnim. Nanso, yɛnim sɛ Kristo ba a, yɛbɛyɛ te sɛ ɔno, ɛfiri sɛ, yɛbɛhunu no sɛdeɛ ɔteɛ.
3 [So], all those who confidently expect [to see Christ as he actually is/what Christ is like when he returns] must keep themselves pure in every way, just like Christ, who is pure in every way.
Obiara a ɔwɔ saa anidasoɔ yi wɔ Kristo mu no yɛ ne ho kronn sɛdeɛ Kristo yɛ kronn no.
4 But everyone who continues sinning is refusing to obey [God’s] laws, because that is what sin is, refusing to obey [God’s] laws.
Obiara a ɔyɛ bɔne no bu Onyankopɔn mmara so, ɛfiri sɛ, bɔne yɛ mmara so buo.
5 You know that Christ came in order to completely remove [the guilt of] our sins. You know also that he never sinned.
Monim sɛ Kristo baeɛ sɛ ɔrebɛfa nnipa bɔne, ɛfiri sɛ, ɔno deɛ bɔne nni ne mu.
6 Those who continue [doing what] Christ wants them to, do not continue sinning repeatedly. But those who repeatedly sin have not understood [who Christ is], nor have they had a close relationship with him.
Enti, obiara a ɔtena Kristo mu no nkɔ so nyɛ bɔne. Na obiara a ɔkɔ so yɛ bɔne no nhunuu no, na ɔnnim no.
7 [So I urge you, ] who are all very dear to me, do not let anyone deceive you [by telling you that it is all right to sin]. If you continue doing what is right, you are righteous, just like Christ is righteous.
Mommma obi nnaadaa mo, me mma. Obiara a ɔyɛ deɛ ɛtene no yɛ ɔteneneeni sɛdeɛ Kristo yɛ ɔteneneeni no.
8 [But] if anyone continues sinning, he is like the devil, because the devil has always been sinning. [And] the reason why God’s Son became a human being was to destroy what the devil has done.
Deɛ ɔkɔ so yɛ bɔne no yɛ ɔbonsam dea, ɛfiri sɛ, ɔbonsam firi ahyɛaseɛ pɛɛ na ɔyɛɛ bɔne. Saa asɛm yi enti na Onyankopɔn Ba no baeɛ. Ɔbaeɛ sɛ ɔrebɛsɛe ɔbonsam nnwuma.
9 People do not continue sinning repeatedly if they have become children of God. Instead, [they] continue [to conduct their lives according to the character/nature that God produced in them] [MET]. They cannot continually sin because God has caused them to become his children.
Obiara a ɔyɛ Onyankopɔn Ba no nkɔ so nyɛ bɔne, ɛfiri sɛ Onyankopɔn su wɔ ne mu, na ɛsiane sɛ Onyankopɔn yɛ nʼAgya enti, ɔntumi nkɔ so nyɛ bɔne.
10 Those who are God’s children are clearly different from those who are (the devil’s/Satan’s) children. [The way that we can know who are Satan’s children is this]: Those who do not do what is right are not God’s children. [Specifically], those who do not love their fellow believers are not [God’s children Instead, they are Satan’s children].
Nsonsonoeɛ a ɛda Onyankopɔn mma ne ɔbonsam mma ntam ne sɛ, obi a ɔnyɛ papa anaa ɔnnɔ ne nua no nyɛ Onyankopɔn ba.
11 The message that you heard when you first [MTY] [believed in Christ] is that we should love each other.
Nsɛm a motee ahyɛaseɛ no kyerɛ sɛ, monnodɔ mo ho.
12 [We should] not [hate others] as did [Adam’s son], Cain, who belonged to [Satan], the evil one. [Because Cain hated his younger brother], he murdered him. (I will tell you about why he murdered his brother./Do you know why he murdered his brother [RHQ]?) It was because Cain habitually conducted his life in an evil way, and [he hated his younger brother] because his [younger] brother [conducted his life] righteously.
Ɛnsɛ sɛ yɛyɛ sɛ Kain. Na ɔyɛ ɔbonsam dea. Enti ɔkumm nʼankasa ne nua. Adɛn enti na Kain kumm no? Ɛfiri sɛ, nneɛma a ɔyɛeɛ no yɛ bɔne, nanso ne nua no deɛ, ɔyɛɛ papa.
13 You should not be amazed/surprised, my fellow believers, when [unbelievers] [MTY] hate you.
Enti, anuanom, sɛ ewiasefoɔ tane mo a, mommma ɛnyɛ mo nwanwa.
14 We know that we have been changed from [being spiritually] dead [MET] to [being spiritually] alive. We know this because we love our fellow believers. [Those who] do not love [their fellow believers] are still [spiritually] [MET] dead.
Yɛnim sɛ yɛafiri owuo mu aba nkwa mu. Yɛnim saa, ɛfiri sɛ, yɛdɔ yɛn nuanom.
15 Those who hate [any of] their fellow believers, [God considers] [MET] them [to be] murderers. And you know that no murderer has eternal life. (aiōnios g166)
Obi a ɔtan ne nua no yɛ owudifoɔ na monim nso sɛ owudifoɔ nni nkwa a ɛnni awieeɛ wɔ ne mu. (aiōnios g166)
16 The way that we now know [how to truly] love [our fellow believers is by remembering] that Christ (voluntarily died/gave his life) for us. So, [when our fellow believers need something, we should be willing to help them. We should even be willing to] die for them.
Yei na ɛma yɛhunu sɛdeɛ ɔdɔ teɛ. Kristo de ne nkwa maa yɛn. Ɛsɛ sɛ yɛn nso yɛde yɛn nkwa ma yɛn nuanom.
17 Many [of us] have the things that are necessary for us to live in this world. If we become aware that any of our fellow believers do not have what they need and [if we] refuse to ([provide for them/give to them what they need]), it is clear that we do not love God [as we claim/say that we do].
Sɛ obi yɛ ɔdefoɔ na ɔhunu sɛ biribi ho hia ne nua na wanhunu no mmɔbɔ a, ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na watumi aka sɛ ɔdɔ Onyankopɔn wɔ nʼakoma mu?
18 [I say to] all of you whom I love dearly, let us not merely say [MTY] that [we love our fellow believers!] Let us genuinely/really love them by doing things [to help them]!
Me mma, ɛnsɛ sɛ yɛn dɔ no yɛ kasa hunu. Ɛsɛ sɛ ɛyɛ ɔdɔ turodoo a ɛnam nneyɛeɛ so da ne ho adi.
19 When we [truly love our fellow believers], we can be sure that we are [conducting our lives according to] the true message. [As a result], we will not feel guilty/ashamed [when we talk] [MTY] to God.
Yei na ɛbɛma yɛahunu sɛ yɛwɔ nokorɛ no. Yei na ɛbɛma yɛn akoma anya gyidie wɔ Onyankopɔn anim.
20 [We can pray confidently], because [although] we might feel guilty/ashamed [about our sins], God is (greater/more worthy to be trusted) than what we feel. He knows everything [about us].
Sɛ yɛn akoma bu yɛn fɔ mpo a, yɛnim sɛ Onyankopɔn so sene yɛn akoma na ɔnim biribiara.
21 Dear friends, when we do not feel guilty [because of our sins], we can pray to God confidently.
Enti, anuanom adɔfoɔ, sɛ yɛn akoma ammu yɛn fɔ a, yɛwɔ akokoɔduru wɔ Onyankopɔn anim.
22 And, when we confidently pray to him and request [something from him], we receive it because we do what he commands [us to do], and because we do what pleases him.
Biribiara a yɛbisa no no, yɛn nsa ka, ɛfiri sɛ, yɛdi ne mmara so na yɛyɛ nʼapɛdeɛ nso.
23 [I will tell you] what he commands [us to do]: [We must] believe that Jesus Christ is (his Son/the one who is also God). [We must] also love each other, just like he commanded [us to do].
Ne mmara no ka sɛ, yɛnnye ne Ba Yesu Kristo no din mu na yɛnnodɔ yɛn ho sɛdeɛ Kristo hyɛɛ yɛn no.
24 Those who do what God commands are ones who have a close relationship with God, and God has a close relationship with them. [I will tell you how] we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us: It is because [we have] his Spirit, whom he gave to us, that we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us.
Obiara a ɔdi Onyankopɔn mmara so no te Onyankopɔn mu na Onyankopɔn nso te ne mu. Na yei na ɛma yɛhunu sɛ Onyankopɔn te yɛn mu. Yɛnim no saa ɛsiane Honhom a wama yɛn no enti.
