¹Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.

¹Tarirai kuti rudo rwakadini Baba rwavakatipa, kuti tinzi vanakomana vaMwari; nekuda kwaizvozvi nyika haitizivi, nekuti haina kumuziva iye.

²Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.

²Vadiwa, ikozvino tiri vana vaMwari, uye zvichigere kuonekwa kuti tichazovei. Asi tinoziva kuti kana achizoonekwa isu tichafanana naye; nekuti tichamuona sezvaakaita.

³Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.

³Uye umwe neumwe une tariro iyi maari, unozvichenesa sezvaakachena iye.

⁴Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.

⁴Umwe neumwe unoita chivi unodarika nomurairowo; nekuti chivi ndiko kudarika murairo.

⁵You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.

⁵Munoziva kuti iye wakaratidzwa kuti abvise zvivi zvedu; uye maari hamuna zvivi.

⁶Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him, neither knows him.

⁶Ani nani unogara maari haatadzi; ani nani unotadza haana kumuona kana kumuziva.

⁷Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

⁷Vana vaduku, ngakurege kuva neunokunyengerai; uyo unoita kururama wakarurama, saiye akarurama.

⁸He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

⁸Uyo unoita chivi unobva kuna dhiabhorosi, nekuti dhiabhorosi unotadza kubva pakutanga. Mwanakomana waMwari wakaratidzwa nemhaka iyi kuti aparadze mabasa adhiabhorosi.

⁹Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can’t sin, because he is born of God.

⁹Umwe neumwe wakaberekwa naMwari haaiti chivi, nekuti mbeu yake inogara maari, saka haangatadzi, nekuti wakaberekwa naMwari.

¹⁰In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.

¹⁰Muna izvozvi vana vaMwari navana vadhiabhorosi vanoratidzwa; umwe neumwe usingaiti zvakarurama haabvi kuna Mwari, naiyewo usingadi hama yake.

¹¹For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

¹¹Nekuti iri ndiro shoko ramakanzwa kubva pakutanga, kuti tidanane;

¹²unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

¹²kwete saKaini, wakabva kuna iye wakaipa, akaponda munin'ina wake. Ko wakamuponderei? Nekuti mabasa ake akanga akaipa, asi omunin'ina wake akarurama.

¹³Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

¹³Musashamisika hama dzangu, kana nyika ichikuvengai.

¹⁴We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.

¹⁴Tinoziva kuti takabva murufu tikapinda muupenyu, nekuti tinoda hama. Uyo, usingadi hama yake unogara murufu.

¹⁵Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.

¹⁵Umwe neumwe unovenga hama yake imhondi; uye munoziva kuti hakuna mhondi ine upenyu hwusingaperi hwunogara mairi.

¹⁶By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

¹⁶Ndizvo zvatinoziva nazvo rudo, nekuti wakatiradzikira upenyu hwake; nesu tinofanira kuradzikira hama upenyu.

¹⁷But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him?

¹⁷Asi ani nani ane fuma yenyika ino asi achiona hama yake ichishaiwa, akamupfigira tsitsi dzake, rudo rwaMwari runogara seiko maari?

¹⁸My little children, let’s not love in word only, neither with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.

¹⁸Vana vangu vaduku, ngatirege kuda neshoko kana norurimi, asi muzviito nemuchokwadi.

¹⁹And by this we know that we are of the truth, and persuade our hearts before him,

¹⁹Ndizvo zvatinoziva nazvo kuti tiri vechokwadi, tigosimbisa moyo yedu pamberi pake.

²⁰because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

²⁰Nekuti kana moyo yedu ichitipa mhosva, Mwari mukuru kumoyo wedu, uye unoziva zvinhu zvose.

²¹Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God;

²¹Vadiwa, kana moyo wedu usingatipi mhosva, tine ushingi pamberi paMwari;

²²and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.

²²uye zvose zvatinokumbira tinogamuchira kubva kwaari, nekuti tinochengeta mirairo yake, tichiita zvinhu zvinofadza pamberi pake.

²³This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.

²³Uye uyu ndiwo murairo wake, kuti titende kuzita roMwanakomana wake Jesu Kristu, uye tidanane, sezvaakatipa murairo.

²⁴He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

²⁴Uye uyo unochengeta mirairo yake unogara maari, naiye maari. Ndizvo zvatinoziva nazvo kuti unogara matiri nomweya waakatipa.