1 John 4

1 Beloved, every spirit believe not, but prove the spirits, if of God they are, because many false prophets have gone forth to the world;

Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 in this know ye the Spirit of God; every spirit that doth confess Jesus Christ in the flesh having come, of God it is,

This is how you know God’s Spirit: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

3 and every spirit that doth not confess Jesus Christ in the flesh having come, of God it is not; and this is that of the antichrist, which ye heard that it doth come, and now in the world it is already.

Every spirit that fails to acknowledge Jesus isn’t from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world.

4 Ye — of God ye are, little children, and ye have overcome them; because greater is He who [is] in you, than he who is in the world.

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

5 They — of the world they are; because of this from the world they speak, and the world doth hear them;

They are from the world, therefore they talk like they are from the world, and the world listens to them.

6 we — of God we are; he who is knowing God doth hear us; he who is not of God, doth not hear us; from this we know the spirit of the truth, and the spirit of the error.

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

7 Beloved, may we love one another, because the love is of God, and every one who is loving, of God he hath been begotten, and doth know God;

Beloved, let us sincerely love one another, for sincere love is from God, and everyone who sincerely loves is born of God and knows God.

8 he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love.

The one who doesn’t sincerely love doesn’t know God, for God is sincere love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son — the only begotten — hath God sent to the world, that we may live through him;

The sincere love of God was manifested in us by this, that God has sent His only born Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

10 in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins.

In this is sincere love: not that we sincerely loved God, but that He sincerely loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

11 Beloved, if thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love;

Beloved, if God sincerely loved us like this, we ought to sincerely love one another, too.

12 God no one hath ever seen; if we may love one another, God in us doth remain, and His love is having been perfected in us;

No one has ever seen God, but if we sincerely love one another, God lives in us and His sincere love is made complete in us.

13 in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us.

This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

14 And we — we have seen and do testify, that the Father hath sent the Son — Saviour of the world;

We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

15 whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God in him doth remain, and he in God;

God lives in whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, and that person lives in God.

16 and we — we have known and believed the love, that God hath in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he doth remain, and God in him.

We have come to know and have believed the sincere love which God has for us. God is sincere love. One who lives in sincere love lives in God, and God lives in him.

17 In this made perfect hath been the love with us, that boldness we may have in the day of the judgment, because even as He is, we — we also are in this world;

Sincere love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have confident boldness on the judgment day, because as He is, so are we in this world.

18 fear is not in the love, but the perfect love doth cast out the fear, because the fear hath punishment, and he who is fearing hath not been made perfect in the love;

There is no fear in sincere love, but perfect, sincere love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. But whoever fears has not been made perfect in sincere love.

19 we — we love him, because He — He first loved us;

We sincerely love, because He first sincerely loved us.

20 if any one may say — 'I love God,' and his brother he may hate, a liar he is; for he who is not loving his brother whom he hath seen, God — whom he hath not seen — how is he able to love?

If someone says, “I sincerely love God,” and hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. If someone doesn’t sincerely love a brother or sister he has seen, how can he sincerely love God whom he hasn’t seen?

21 and this [is] the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother.

This commandment we have from Him: that whoever sincerely loves God must sincerely love his brothers and sisters, too.