1 John 4
1 Dear friends, many people [who have a false message] are teaching it to people [MTY]. So do not trust every [message that someone claims/says that God’s] Spirit [MTY] [gave to him]. Instead, (test/think carefully about) the teachings that [you hear] in order to know whether they are from God or not.
Любі, не вірте кожному духові, але перевіряйте духів, чи вони від Бога, тому що у світі з’явилося багато лжепророків.
2 [I will tell] you how to recognize [teachings that come from] the Spirit of God: Those who affirm/say that Jesus Christ came [from God] to become a human [like us] are [teaching a message] that is from God.
Так розпізнавайте Духа Бога: кожен дух, який визнає, що Ісус Христос прийшов у тілі, є від Бога.
3 But those who do not affirm/say [that about] Jesus are not [teaching a message] from God. [They are teachers who] oppose Christ. You have heard that people like that are coming [to be among us]. Even now they are already here!
А кожен дух, який не визнає Ісуса, не від Бога. Це [дух] антихриста, про якого ви чули, що наближається, і він вже у світі.
4 As for you who are very dear to me, you belong to God, and you have refused [the false messages] that those people [teach], because [God], who enables you [to do what he wants], is (greater/more powerful) than ([Satan/the devil]), who enables (godless people/people who conduct their lives in a way that displeases God) [MTY].
Діточки, ви від Бога, і ви перемогли їх, бо Той, Хто у вас, величніший від того, хто у світі.
5 As for [those who are teaching what is false], they are (godless people/people whose lives are displeasing to God) [MTY]. Because of that, they teach what (godless people/people whose lives are displeasing to God) [MTY] want to hear. That is why the (godless people/people whose lives displease God) [MTY] listen to them.
Лжепророки – від світу, тому те, про що вони говорять, є від світу, і світ їх слухає.
6 As for us [(exc)], [because] we belong to God, whoever (knows/has a close relationship with) God listens to us. [But] those who do not belong to God do not listen to us. That is how we can know whether [the things that people are teaching] [MTY] are true or whether they are false, and deceiving [people].
А ми від Бога, і хто знає Бога, слухає нас, а той, хто не від Бога, не слухає нас. Так ми розпізнаємо Духа правди й духа омани.
7 Dear friends, we must love each other, because God [enables us] to love [each other], and because those who love [their fellow believers] have become God’s children and (know/have a close relationship with) him.
Любі, любімо одне одного, тому що любов є від Бога, і кожен, хто любить, народжений від Бога та знає Бога.
8 God’s [nature] is to love [all people]. So those who do not love [their fellow believers] do not (know/have a relationship with) God.
А хто не любить, не знає Бога, тому що Бог є любов.
9 I will tell you how God has shown us [that he] loves us: He sent (his only Son/the only one who was also God) [to live] on the earth to enable us to live [eternally] as a result of [our trusting in what] he [accomplished for us by dying for us].
Так явилася любов Божа до нас: Бог послав Свого Єдинородного Сина у світ, щоб ми жили через Нього.
10 [And God] has shown [us what it means to] love [another person]: [It does] not [mean] that we loved God, but [it means] that God loved us and sent (his Son/the one who was also God) to sacrifice [his life] in order that [our sins might be forgiven] {[he might forgive] our sins}.
Любов полягає не в тому, що ми полюбили Бога, але в тому, що Бог полюбив нас і послав Свого Сина як жертву за наші гріхи.
11 Dear friends, since God loves us like that, we certainly ought to love each other!
Любі, якщо Бог так полюбив нас, то й ми повинні любити одне одного.
12 No one has ever seen God. [Nevertheless], if we love each other, [it is evident that] God lives within us and that we love others just like he [intends/wants us to do].
Бога ніхто ніколи не бачив. Якщо ми любимо одне одного, Бог перебуває в нас, і Його любов у нас досконала.
13 [I will tell you] how we can be sure that we have a close relationship with God and that God is within us: He has put his Spirit within us.
Так ми пізнаємо, що залишаємося в Бозі і Бог у нас, бо Він нам дав від Свого Духа.
14 We [apostles] have seen (God’s Son/the one who is also God), and [we tell people] that the Father sent him to save [the people in] the world [MTY] [from being punished for their sins].
Ми бачили й свідчимо, що Отець послав Сина як Спасителя світу.
15 [So] those who affirm/say that Jesus is the (Son of/one who is also) God, God is within them, and they have a close relationship with God.
Якщо хтось визнає, що Ісус – Божий Син, то Бог перебуває в ньому, а він – у Бозі.
16 We have experienced how God loves us and we believe that he loves us. [As a result, we love others. Because] God’s [nature] is to love people, those who continue to love [others] have a close relationship with God, and God has a close relationship with them.
Ми пізнали й повірили в любов, яку Бог має до нас. Бог є любов, і хто перебуває в любові, перебуває в Бозі, і Бог перебуває в ньому.
17 We [should] love others completely. And if we do that, when the time comes for [him to] judge us, we will be confident [that he will not condemn us] (OR, [that we have a close relationship with him]). [We will be confident of that] because of our [conducting our lives] in this world as Christ did.
Так любов удосконалюється в нас, щоб ми мали сміливість у День Суду, бо ми в цьому світі, як [Ісус].
18 We will not be afraid [of God] if we [truly] love [him], because those who love [God] completely cannot possibly be afraid [of him]. [We would be] afraid only [if we thought that he would] punish us. So those who are afraid [of God certainly] are not loving [God] completely.
У любові немає страху. Навпаки, досконала любов викидає страх геть, тому що страх має [в собі] покарання, а хто боїться, ще не вдосконалений у любові.
19 We love [God and our fellow believers] because God loved us first.
Ми любимо, тому що Бог перший полюбив нас.
20 [So] those who say “I love God” but hate a fellow believer are lying. Those who do not love one of their fellow believers, whom they have seen, certainly cannot be loving God, whom they have not seen.
Якщо хтось скаже: «Я люблю Бога», а брата свого ненавидить, той брехун, бо якщо не любить брата свого, якого бачить, не може любити Бога, Якого не бачить.
21 Keep in mind that this is what God has commanded us: If we love him, we must also love our fellow believers.
І це є заповідь, яку ми маємо від Бога: «Хто любить Бога, нехай любить і свого брата!».
