1 John 5:7 BSB — MannaFest

1 John 5:7

For there are three that testify:

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

KJV

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

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A note on the manuscripts

Not seriously disputed

The Three Heavenly Witnesses

The clearest case on this site: the words about the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost entered the Greek New Testament in 1522, out of Latin, and the doctrine of the Trinity never needed them.

What it changes: Nothing. Not one thing. This is the most important sentence on the page, and it is not a comfort offered to soften a blow, it is the plain state of the case.

The manuscripts, and the case each way →

Commentary

5 voices

Cyprian

Treatise 1. On the Unity of the Church (258)

The Lord says, "I and the Father are one;" and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, "And these three are one." And does any one believe that this unity which thus comes from the divine strength and coheres in celestial sacraments, can be divided in the Church, and can be separated by the parting asunder of opposing wills? He who does not hold this unity does not hold God's law, does not hold the faith of the Father and the Son, does not hold life and salvation.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

It is alleged that many old Greek manuscripts have it not. We shall not here enter into the controversy. It should seem that the critics are not agreed what manuscripts have it and what not; nor do they sufficiently inform us of the integrity and value of the manuscripts they peruse.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

If all the Greek manuscripts and ancient versions say concerning the Spirit, the water, and the blood, that in unum sunt--they agree in one, then it was not of them that Cyprian spoke, whatever variety there might be in the copies in his time, when he said it is written, unum sunt--they are one.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

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

For there are three that bear record in heaven ... - There are three that “witness,” or that “bear witness” - the same Greek word which, in 1Jn 5:8, is rendered “bear witness” - μαρτυροῦντες marturountes. There is no passage of the New Testament which has given rise to so much discussion in regard to its genuineness as this.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

A scholium quoted in Matthæi, shows that the words did not arise from fraud; for in the words, in all Greek manuscripts "there are three that bear record," as the Scholiast notices, the word "three" is masculine, because the three things (the Spirit, the water, and the blood) are SYMBOLS OF THE TRINITY.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

5 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ὅτι	hoti	For	G3754 →
τρεῖς	treis	three	G5140 →
εἰσιν	eisin	there are	G1510 →
οἱ	hoi	those	G3588 →
μαρτυροῦντες,	marturountes	bearing testimony:	G3140 →

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

G3140marturountesbearing testimony:76×

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
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
leads to
- Genesis 1:1
  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- John 17:5
  And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
- Revelation 19:13
  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
- Colossians 1:17
  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
- John 1:14
  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Through
Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
leads to
- Mark 16:15–16
  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Acts 2:38–39
  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 1:8
  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

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About 1 John

The Last Supper — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

1 John: the study guide →Read chapter 5 →The featured study →

Continue: 1 John 5 →

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