1 Jaona 4
1 Ry malala, aza mino ny fanahy rehetra, fa izahao toetra ny fanahy, na avy amin’ Andriamanitra ireny, na tsia, satria maro ny mpaminany sandoka efa lasa any amin’ izao tontolo izao.
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.
2 Izao no ahafantaranareo ny Fanahin’ Andriamanitra: Ny fanahy rehetra izay manaiky fa efa tonga tamin’ ny nofo Jesosy Kristy no avy amin’ Andriamanitra;
[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.
3 ary ny fanahy rehetra izay tsy manaiky an’ i Jesosy dia tsy mba avy amin’ Andriamanitra; ary izany no fanahin’ ny antikristy, izay efa renareo fa ho avy, sady efa eo amin’ izao tontolo izao sahady izy.
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!
4 Anaka, ianareo dia avy amin’ Andriamanitra ary efa naharesy ireny, satria lehibe Izay ao aminareo noho izay ao amin’ izao tontolo izao.
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].
5 Isan’ izao tontolo izao ireny, ka dia miteny araka ny an’ izao tontolo izao izy, ary mihaino azy izao tontolo izao.
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.
6 Avy amin’ Andriamanitra izahay; izay mahalala an’ Andriamanitra no mihaino anay; Izay tsy avy amin’ Andriamanitra tsy mba mihaino anay. Izany no ahafantarantsika ny fanahin’ ny fahamarinana sy ny fanahin’ ny fampiviliana.
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].
7 Ry malala, aoka hifankatia isika; fa avy amin’ Andriamanitra ny fitiavana, ary Izay rehetra tia no naterak’ Andriamanitra sady mahalala an’ Andriamanitra.
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.
8 Izay tsy tia dia tsy mba mahalala an’ Andriamanitra; fa Andriamanitra dia fitiavana.
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.
9 Izao no nanehoana ny fitiavan’ Andriamanitra antsika: Andriamanitra naniraka ny Zanani-lahy Tokana tamin’ izao tontolo izao, mba hahavelona antsika amin’ ny alalany.
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].
10 Izao no fitiavana: tsy ny nitiavantsika an’ Andriamanitra fa ny nitiavany antsika, ka nirahiny ny Zanany ho avotra’ noho ny fahotantsika.
[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}.
11 Ry malala, raha izany no nitiavan’ Andriamanitra antsika, dia mba tokony hifankatia kosa isika.
Dear friends, since God loves us like that, we certainly ought to love each other!
12 Tsy mbola nisy olona nahita an’ Andriamanitra na oviana na oviana. Raha mifankatia isika, dia mitoetra ato amintsika Andriamanitra, ary tanteraka ato amintsika ny fitiavany.
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].
13 Izao no ahafantarantsika fa mitoetra ao aminy isika, ary Izy ato amintsika, dia ny nanomezany antsika ny Fanahiny.
[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.
14 Ary izahay efa nahita ka manambara fa ny Ray efa naniraka ny Zanaka ho Mpamonjy izao tontolo izao.
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].
15 Na iza na iza manaiky fa Zanak’ Andriamanitra Jesosy, dia mitoetra ao aminy Andriamanitra, ary izy kosa ao amin’ Andriamanitra.
[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.
16 Ary isika efa mahalala sy mino ny fitiavan’ Andriamanitra antsika. Andriamanitra dia fitiavana; ary izay mitoetra amin’ ny fitiavana no mitoetra ao amin’ Andriamanitra, ary Andriamanitra ao aminy.
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.
17 Izany no ahatanterahana ny fitiavana amintsika, mba hananantsika fahasahiana amin’ ny andro fitsarana; fa tahaka Azy isika eo amin’ izao tontolo izao.
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.
18 Tsy manan-tahotra ny fitiavana; fa ny fitiavana tanteraka mandroaka ny tahotra; fa mampahory ny tahotra. Fa izay matahotra dia tsy mbola tanteraka amin’ ny fitiavana.
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.
19 Isika tia, satria Izy efa dia antsika taloha.
We love [God and our fellow believers] because God loved us first.
20 Raha misy manao hoe: Tia an’ Andriamanitra aho, nefa mankahala ny rahalahiny, dia mpandainga izy; fa izay tsy tia ny rahalahiny izay hitany, hataony ahoana no fitia an’ Andriamanitra Izay tsy hitany?
[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.
21 Ary izao no didy efa azontsika taminy: Izay tia an’ Andriamanitra dia tsy maintsy tia ny rahalahiny koa.
Keep in mind that this is what God has commanded us: If we love him, we must also love our fellow believers.
