I John 3

¹Se ye what maner charite the fadir yaf to vs, that we be named the sones of God, and ben hise sones. For this thing the world knewe not vs, for it knew not hym.

²Moost dere britheren, now we ben the sones of God, and yit it apperide not, what we schulen be. We witen, that whanne he schal appere, we schulen be lijk hym, for we schulen se hym as he is.

³And ech man that hath this hope in hym, makith hym silf hooli, as he is hooli.

⁴Ech man that doith synne, doith also wickidnesse, and synne is wickidnesse.

⁵And ye witen, that he apperide to do awei synnes, and synne is not in hym.

⁶Ech man that dwellith in hym, synneth not; and ech that synneth, seeth not hym, nether knew hym.

⁷Litle sones, no man disseyue you; he that doith riytwysnesse, is iust, as also he is iust.

⁸He that doith synne, is of the deuel; for the deuel synneth fro the bigynnyng. In this thing the sone of God apperide, that he vndo the werkis of the deuel.

⁹Ech man that is borun of God, doith not synne; for the seed of God dwellith in hym, and he may not do synne, for he is borun of God.

¹⁰In this thing the sones of God ben knowun, and the sones of the feend. Ech man that is not iust, is not of God, and he that loueth not his brothir.

¹¹For this is the tellyng, that ye herden at the bigynnyng, that ye loue ech othere;

¹²not as Caym, that was of the yuele, and slouy his brother. And for what thing slouy he him? for hise werkis weren yuele, and hise brotheris iust.

¹³Britheren, nyle ye wondre, if the world hatith you.

¹⁴We witen, that we ben translatid fro deeth to lijf, for we louen britheren. He that loueth not, dwellith in deth.

¹⁵Ech man that hatith his brother, is a man sleere; and ye witen, that ech mansleere hath not euerlastinge lijf dwellinge in hym.

¹⁶In this thing we han knowe the charite of God, for he puttide his lijf for vs, and we owen to putte oure lyues for oure britheren.

¹⁷He that hath the catel of this world, and seeth that his brothir hath nede, and closith his entrailis fro hym, hou dwellith the charite of God in hym?

¹⁸Mi litle sones, loue we not in word, nethir in tunge, but in werk and treuthe.

¹⁹In this thing we knowen, that we ben of treuthe, and in his siyt we monesten oure hertis.

²⁰For if oure herte repreueth vs, God is more than oure hert, and knowith alle thingis.

²¹Moost dere britheren, if oure herte repreueth not vs, we han trust to God;

²²and what euer we schulen axe, we schulen resseyue of hym, for we kepen hise comaundementis, and we don tho thingis that ben plesaunt bifor hym.

²³And this is the comaundement of God, that we bileue in the name of his sone Jhesu Crist, and that we loue ech othere, as he yaf heeste to vs.

²⁴And he that kepith hise comaundementis, dwellith in hym, and he in hym. And in this thing we witen, that he dwellith in vs, bi the spirit, whom he yaf to vs.

I John 3

¹Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

²Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

³And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

⁴Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

⁵And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

⁶Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

⁷Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

⁸He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

⁹Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

¹⁰In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

¹¹For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

¹²Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

¹⁵Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

¹⁹And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

²⁰For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

²¹Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

²²And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

²³And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

²⁴And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.