1 John 5:21 BSB — MannaFest

1 John 5:21

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

My little children, guard yourselves from idols.

KJV

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

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Commentary

3 voices

Tertullian

De Corona (220)

Even an earthly serpent sucks in men at some distance with its breath. Going still further, John says, "My little children, keep yourselves from idols," -not now from idolatry, as if from the service of it, but from idols-that is, from any resemblance to them: for it is an unworthy thing that you, the image of the living God, should become the likeness of an idol and a dead man.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

Little children, keep yourselves from idols, Amen. From Heathen idols and idolatry, into which the saints in those times might be liable to be drawn, by reason of their dwelling among Heathen idolaters, and being related to them, and by the too great freedom used in eating things sacrificed to idols in their temples; and from all other idols that might be introduced by some who went by the name of Christians, as the Gnostics, who worshipped the images of Simon and Helena; and the passage may be an antidote against the worshipping of images, afterwards introduced by the Papists.

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Keep yourselves from idols - From all worship of false gods, from all worship of images or of any creature, and from every inward idol; from loving, desiring, fearing anything more than God.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Little children - This is a favorite mode of address with John, (see the notes at 1Jn 2:1), and it was proper to use it in giving his parting counsel; embracing, in fact, all that he had to say - that they should keep themselves from idols, and suffer nothing to alienate their affections from the true God.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

6 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
τεκνία,	teknia	Little children,	G5040 →
φυλάξατε	phulaxate	do keep	G5442 →
ἑαυτὰ	he'auta	yourselves	G1438 →
ἀπὸ	apo	from	G575 →
τῶν	tōn	<the>	G3588 →
εἰδώλων	eidōlōn	idols	G1497 →

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
Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will…
- John 17:15
  I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.
- Matthew 26:41
  “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
- Revelation 7:14–17
  “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the…
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
  But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
Through
1 Corinthians 10:7
Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.”
leads to
- Exodus 32:6–8
  So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.
- Psalms 106:19–20
  At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image.
Through
1 Corinthians 10:14
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
leads to
- Revelation 21:8
  But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…

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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