1 John 2:4 BSB — MannaFest

1 John 2:4

If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

KJV

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

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Commentary

3 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 30 (604)

Yet in the very beginning of the reading you heard what the Truth says: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word." The proof of love, therefore, is the showing forth of works. Hence the same John says in his epistle: "He who says, 'I love God,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar." For we truly love God if we restrain ourselves from our own pleasures for the sake of His commandments. For he who still flows away through illicit desires certainly does not love God, because he contradicts Him by his own will.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

And, if that be seen and known, how vain and superficial is even this knowledge when it sways not the heart unto obedience! A disobedient life is the confutation and shame of pretended religious knowledge; it gives the lie to such boasts and pretences, and shows that there is neither religion nor honesty in them.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

He that saith, I know him - This is a severe blow against those false teachers, and against all pretenders to religious knowledge, who live under the power of their sins; and against all Antinomians, and false boasters in the righteousness of Christ as a covering for their personal unholiness. They are all liars, and no truth of God is in them.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

20 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Ὁ	Ho	The [one]	G3588 →
λέγων	legōn	saying	G3004 →
ὅτι	hoti	that	G3754 →
ἔγνωκα	egnōka	I have known	G1097 →
αὐτὸν	auton	Him	G846 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
τὰς	tas	the	G3588 →
ἐντολὰς	entolas	commandments	G1785 →
αὐτοῦ	autou	of Him	G846 →
μὴ	mē	not	G3361 →
τηρῶν,	tērōn	keeping,	G5083 →
ψεύστης	pseustēs	a liar	G5583 →
ἐστίν,	estin	he is,	G1510 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
τούτῳ	toutō	him	G3778 →
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
ἀλήθεια	alētheia	truth	G225 →
οὐκ	ouk	not	G3756 →
ἔστιν·	estin	is;	G1510 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
leads to
- Romans 3:23
  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
- Ecclesiastes 7:20
  Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
- James 3:2
  We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
- Isaiah 53:6
  We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
Through
Titus 1:16
They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
leads to
- Isaiah 29:13
  Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
Through
1 John 4:20
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
leads to
- 1 John 3:17
  If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- 1 John 2:9
  If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
Through
1 John 1:6
If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
leads to
- 1 John 4:20
  If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 John

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 John