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

¹Wapenzi wangu, msimsadiki kila mtu asemaye kwamba ana Roho wa Mungu, bali chunguzeni kwa makini kama huyo mtu anaongozwa na Roho wa Mungu au la, Maana manabii wengi wa uongo wamezuka ulimwenguni.

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

²Hii ndiyo njia ya kujua kama mtu anaongozwa na Roho wa Mungu: Kila anayekiri kwamba Kristo alikuja, akawa binadamu, mtu huyo anaye Roho wa Mungu.

³and 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.

³Lakini mtu yeyote asiyemkiri Kristo hivyo, hana huyo Roho atokaye kwa Mungu. Mtu huyo ana roho ambaye ni wa Adui wa Kristo; nanyi mlikwisha sikia kwamba anakuja, na sasa tayari amekwisha wasili ulimwenguni!

⁴Ye — 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.

⁴Lakini ninyi, watoto, ni wake Mungu na mmekwisha washinda hao manabii wa uongo; maana Roho aliye ndani yenu ana nguvu zaidi kuliko roho aliye ndani ya hao walio wa ulimwengu.

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

⁵Wao husema mambo ya ulimwengu, nao ulimwengu huwasikiliza kwani wao ni wa ulimwengu.

⁶we — 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.

⁶Lakini sisi ni wake Mungu. Mtu anayemjua Mungu hutusikiliza, mtu asiye wa Mungu hatusikilizi. Basi, kwa njia hiyo tunaweza kutambua tofauti kati ya Roho wa ukweli na roho wa uongo.

⁷Beloved, 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;

⁷Wapenzi wangu, tupendane, maana upendo hutoka kwa Mungu. Kila mtu aliye na upendo ni mtoto wa Mungu, na anamjua Mungu.

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

⁸Mtu asiye na upendo hamjui Mungu, maana Mungu ni upendo.

⁹In 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;

⁹Na Mungu alionyesha upendo wake kwetu kwa kumtuma Mwanae wa pekee ulimwenguni, ili tuwe na uzima kwa njia yake.

¹⁰in 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.

¹⁰Hivi ndivyo upendo ulivyo: si kwamba sisi tulikuwa tumempenda Mungu kwanza, bali kwamba yeye alitupenda hata akamtuma Mwanae awe sadaka ya kutuondolea dhambi zetu.

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

¹¹Wapenzi wangu, ikiwa Mungu alitupenda hivyo, basi, nasi tunapaswa kupendana.

¹²God 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;

¹²Hakuna mtu aliyekwisha mwona Mungu kamwe; lakini kama tukipendana Mungu anaishi katika muungano nasi, na upendo wake unakamilika ndani yetu.

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

¹³Tunajua kwamba tunaishi katika umoja na Mungu, naye Mungu anaishi katika umoja nasi, kwani yeye ametupa Roho wake.

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

¹⁴Sisi tumeona na kuwaambia wengine kwamba Baba alimtuma Mwanae awe Mwokozi wa ulimwengu.

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

¹⁵Kila mtu anayekiri kwamba Yesu ni Mwana wa Mungu, Mungu anaishi katika muungano na mtu huyo, naye anaishi katika muungano na Mungu.

¹⁶and 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.

¹⁶Basi, sisi tunajua na tunaamini upendo alio nao Mungu kwetu sisi. Mungu ni upendo, na kila mtu aishiye katika upendo, anaishi katika muungano na Mungu, na Mungu anaishi katika muungano naye.

¹⁷In 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;

¹⁷Upendo umekamilika ndani yetu kusudi tuweze kuwa na ujasiri Siku ile ya Hukumu; kwani maisha yetu hapa duniani ni kama yale ya Kristo.

¹⁸fear 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;

¹⁸Palipo na upendo hapana uoga; naam, upendo kamili hufukuza uoga wote. Basi, mtu mwenye uoga hajakamilika bado katika upendo, kwani uoga huhusikana na adhabu.

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

¹⁹Sisi tuna upendo kwa sababu Mungu alitupenda kwanza.

²⁰if 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?

²⁰Mtu akisema kwamba anampenda Mungu, hali anamchukia ndugu yake, huyo ni mwongo. Maana mtu asiyempenda ndugu yake ambaye anamwona, hawezi kumpenda Mungu ambaye hamwoni.

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

²¹Basi, hii ndiyo amri aliyotupa Kristo: Anayempenda Mungu anapaswa pia kumpenda ndugu yake.