Anyway, because of the Christmas production, I spoke 2 weeks in a row, and pretty much went through the background information of Ruth in preparation for Pastor Jay’s sermons, which really hammered on the points that we wanted to with this series – Biblical manhood and womanhood – and how it applies to relationships between men and women. In these two sermons, I focus in on the idea of “Hesed” – which is a Hebrew word often translated to “Lovingkindness”.

In the first sermon, I explained how this “Hesed” was seen in Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law, essentially leading to her salvation. I thus linked “Hesed” to the Gospel, and had a good ‘ol gospel presentation. In the second sermon, I had a two-fold concern. One was to set up Pastor Jay by explaining the concept of Levirate marriage. And the second is of course to exposit the scriptures I was assigned. So there seems to be a disconnect in this second sermon, but I nonetheless was able to tie it together someone in the idea of “Hesed as a way of life” – that is, after you’ve accepted the Gospel.

1 – “Introducing Hesed”

2 – “Hesed as a Way of Life”

1 – Judges Part 7, “Deborah and Barak”

2 – Judges Part 13, “Samson: The Life Ruled by Sight”

3 – Judges Part 15, “Outro: Micah and the Levite”

Analogies with Stoicism: 1, Deity as the Head of the Cosmos

Paul leaves no doubt that he identifies the church with the body, the cosmos which Christ is the head of. It is the microcasm of the macrocasm… The church is the miniature version of Christ’s headship over all creation… Or maybe we’re the original, and the cosmos and Christ being the head of it is the image of his headship over the church…

Analogies with Stoicism: 2, the mind is the key to the good life

Christ is all knowledge and wisdom though… being in Christ can lead to perfection… The goal of preaching Christ is that everyone would become perfect within Christ. Stoics believe perfection is possible. Likewise Paul is claiming it is possible to become perfect in Christ.

Christ’s Indwelling Life

Often talks about walking in Christ. Or Christ dwelling within Christian… The Christian being in Christ dies with Christ… metaphorically, 2:11-12. Dying and being buried in baptism, and being raised with him from the dead.

Unlike Romans, where hope is for the resurrection, Colossians, resurrection is already at hand… Reason: change in the way the Christian lives.

Parallels with Plato

Plato – God didn’t create out of nothing, but out of chaos. Order our of chaos. Chaos came from the bad god, who continues to create chaos in the world. One of the reasons that Plato advocates turning away from this world… towards the world of the forms, the ideal world, where there’s only truth, beauty and goodness.

τα στοιχεια τοθ κοσμου – elemental principles of the world… this is what Platonists god created the order from… These are the reasons for bad things happening. They are fearsome forces. This is why it’s important for Platonists to believe in reason at the heart of the kosmos, because it allowed for hope.

Plato – image of God… believed that we need to keep our eye on the forms, which is what’s real… what we have are just images. For believers, the image in whom they live is Christ…

Analogical Comparison with Gnosticism

In Christ, all of the πληρωμα of God is pleased to dwell… In Colossians, you have been filled in Him. While in gnosticism, hope is for being filled with knowledge one day.

Another feature is that those in the inner circle believe they have access to a secret knowledge. By comparison, Paul says that God’s mystery is Christ. And all who have knowledge of Christ have knowledge of the mystery.

*** Not arguing for influence. That Paul knew about these philosophies or that his audience did. Just simply looking at what different philosophies in the ancient world is saying about what reality is and how to make it better… Putting Colossians into that mix.

2 very influential books that has shaped most evangelical Christians’ view of the apocalypse… 1) The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. And 2) Left Behind by Tim LaHaye (I read every book in this series back when I was 14-16 years old).

The theologies presented in this book have its origins in John Nelson Darby’s Dispensational Theology… Which, in North America, was promoted by C.I. Scofield, who produced an annotated Bible that promoted dispensational theology.

Dispensational theology essentially believes that the history of the world can be divided up by periods of dispensations… Eg. Dispensation of Innocence – Garden of Eden. Dispensation of Moses/Law. Dispensation of Grace/Church – current. Etc.

In terms of the Apocalypse, the Rapture is the start of the event. A secret return of Christ, when true Christians will be taken up to heaven (others are Left Behind, which is why LaHaye’s books are titled that way). This ushers a period of Tribulation in which peace in the Middle East will be brought about by the Anti Christ, who will eventually demand he be worshipped.

This tells dispensationalists that 1) Israel needs to be back in the Middle East to make peace, and 2) the Temple must be standing. This has lead some, especially since the return of Israel to the land, to try to reproduce temple furniture in preparation for the temple to be rebuilt and begin use. For example…

Eventually, the Russians will attack Israel, along with a “revived Roman Empire (European Union)”, but will be destroyed. The end of the Tribulation brings about Christ’s public return to earth and the start of his 1000 year reign. The end of this reign, Satan is released from the pit, and leads a rebellion of people who lived through the reign but now rebel against the God who has ruled them. At this point, judgement occurs, and evil is vanquished for eternity. This rolls everything back to the period of the Garden – the lowering the new heaven and the new earth. Repopulated by the people who have remained faithful, and so live in eternity with the Triune God.

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What is Bible Prophecy? Stuart & Fee, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: “Prophets are Covenant Enforcement Mediators”. No it is not prediction, but Prophecy were more like smoke detector. A theological early warning system that God gave to Israel.

Israel was supposed to be his intermediaries in the World. The connection between people outside the Temple and God, who lives inside the temple. They were separated by their physical impurities. The priests were called to a high degree of ritual purity that allowed them to go into the temple.

When the people obeyed the Law, the received the blessings associated with the covenant. If they disobey, they suffer the curses. They will not enjoy bounty, good health, etc. They go astray, and God sends the prophet to make predictions to set them back on the correct path. Their predictions are more like the ones made in cop shows… eg. “Listen buddy, if you don’t confess, you’re gonna get 20 to life”. They’re not making wild predictions, but educated guesses based on what they know about the law. Likewise, Biblical prophets typically make predictions like this based on what they know about the Mosaic Law. The goal is to provoke a response by using near-term prediction.

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Jeremiah 18:7-10 … [7] If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, [8] and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. [9] And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, [10] and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. (Jeremiah 18:7-10 ESV)

The point is, God cannot be gotten on a technicality… Another example, the book of Jonah. When preached to about their wickedness, they repented and were not destroyed. What this says about prophecy is that there is the potential for reading some prophecy in the Bible as having a shelf life… This is important to keep in the back of the mind with regard to the fulfilment of prophecy.

Return to the land is the ultimate covenant blessing… So, the fact that Israel is now repopulated is seen by most as a fulfilment of prophecy. But unfortunately, Israel is not at all faithful… In fact, it is quite secular. So there is some difficulty in seeing this return (though you can’t say for sure that God has no hand in it at all) as the fulfilment of Biblical prophecy, at least under the conditions that God has set about in his covenant.

Prophecy is a genre of covenant warning. And it uses near-term predictions to accomplish this. The caveat is, God reserves the right to withdraw blessing as the need may be.

In light of this, what is apocalyptic literature then? First of all, it is not a genre of prophecy, but of hope and fulfillment. We find it in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah.

Apocalyptic genre can be embedded into a prophetic book, and that’s why we can sometimes miss its meaning. Comes from Greek word meaning “Disclosure”. Over time, the word has taken a more ominous tone. Normally we now think of it in terms of negative. Unfortunate because it is not what the literature is all about. In fact, it is about HOPE.

How do we know that something is apocalyptic?

1. A revelation or unveiling given by God
2. Given through a mediator
3. Given to a seer
4. Concerning future events

Apocalyptic literature arises in situations where people are expecting blessings, but are not. And so God uses Apocalyptic literature to speak hope into that context.

So what happens now? It’s this kind of setting that apocalyptic literature happens… it does 3 basic things…

1. Reminds people that God remains the Lord of history
2. Faithful believers enjoy his support in the present oppression
3. God will someday intervene to usher in a better age

In the book of Daniel, this is expressed in 2 different ways… (Stan Walters: “The End of (What) is at Hand?” TJT, 2/1: 23-46).

Inductive Study on the Book of Daniel

Part 1: Table of Contents

Part 2: Analysis of the Book’s Structure

There are two major divisions in the Book of Daniel, which combine various genres of text. Much of the text is in narrative form, especially in the first major part, while much of the text in the second part is prophecy/interpretation in the form of poetry or dialogue. There were also other occasional poetry texts in the first part, used as psalms of praises, while in the second part, poetry is used for some of the prophecies recorded.

The difference in the genres of the first and second parts stands as the clearest indication of the division as it is clear that chapters 1-6 is mostly narrative and 7-12 is mostly prophecy. In the first part, there are five major subdivisions. The first, in Daniel 1, is an introduction which frames the stories for us: Judah has been overrun by the Babylonians and many Israelites are being sent into exile, and four main figures emerge from these who were exiled(Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego). The following subdivisions then serve as four narrative units concerning these main figures, and the kings they were serving. Two of the subdivisions concern Nebuchadnezzar, and one each concern his son Belshazzar, and Darius the Mede. These stories pit these mighty kings and their pride against the sovereign God of all.

The most problematic issue of this way of subdividing this section is the connection between the various narrative sections which concern Nebuchadnezzar. On the one hand, you could look at it as consisting of four sections: (1) the narrative of an initial dream which revealed to Nebuchadnezzar the future beyond his reign in Daniel 2; (2) Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image in Daniel 3; (3) Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream warning of judgement for his pride in Daniel 4:1-27; and (4) Nebuchadnezzar’s continued arrogance, his judgement, and then his restoration in Daniel 4:28-37. The other way to look at it, the one I have chosen, is to see these two dreams as the framework for the division of the two narratives concerning Nebuchadnezzar. These two dreams were each followed by an interpretation, followed by praise, yet followed by Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance and the consequences thereof.

This framework is reinforced by the narrative concerning Belshazzar as it contains the same elements, though in a different sequence. In this narrative in Daniel 5, Belshazzar’s arrogance is first portrayed, followed by a divine communication requiring interpretation. Following the interpretation, a form of praising occurs (in this case, praise of Daniel and not directly of God as was the case in the Nebuchadnezzar narratives), and finally the consequences of the arrogance. The reason for the mixing of the sequence might be seen in what Daniel says to Belshazzar in Daniel 5:22-23a. After recounting what had happened to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel goes on to accuse him: “And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven.” (ESV)

The Darius narrative does not follow the same flow as the preceding narratives, but it is nonetheless clear that it is a separate narrative. The most obvious reason is the different subject: Darius the Mede, who took over the throne after Belshazzar. This narrative does not contain any divine communication, though the most important aspect of the previous narratives is present: the display of arrogance for the king and its consequence. This is important for the theological theme and subthemes of the book, discussed below.

The most important reason for dividing the second major part of this book from the first was already given above: that it contains mostly prophecy, as opposed to the narrative of the first part. In addition to that, the chronological sequence is broken in Daniel 7, providing yet another reason to divide Daniel in this manner. The first part ends with Darius, who reigned after Belshazzar, the second part returns to the first year of Belshazaar’s reign. In addition to serving as the division between the first and second major parts, this also provides us with a framework for subdividing this second part. These chronological markers of when Daniel received (or recorded) each of the visions serves as the subdivisions for the second major part.

The first vision occurred in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, and was a vision of four beasts on earth, the Ancient of Days reigning, and the Son of Man being given the kingdom. The second vision occurred in the third year of Belshazzar’s reign, and was a vision of a ram and goat becoming great and mighty. These two animals are explained to be the representation of various kingdoms which will become great and rule the land. The third vision occurs in the first year of Darius’ reign and it starts off with Daniel’s plea on behalf of his people concerning the time they have spent in exile. He is provided an answer by the angel Gabriel. Finally, the fourth vision occurs in the third year of Cyrus’ reign. This is by far the most extensive vision, consisting of the final three chapters of the book.

Part 3: Theme of the Book

The overwhelming theme of the book, clearly evident in both the narrative and prophetic parts, is the absolute sovereignty of God. In the first part, God’s sovereignty is seen in relation to his interactions with the mighty rulers Babylon, and their dealings with the four Jewish exiles Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We first encounter it in Daniel’s refusal to eat the food provided by the king in chapter 1. Despite being given what was seen as inferior food, Daniel and the others proved to be much healthier and better developed than those who ate the “superior” food of the king.

God’s sovereignty comes to a head in his divine communication with Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar that required Daniel’s interpretation. We see it in both the fact that communication even occurred, as God’s sovereignty extends to the kings’ subconscious, and in Daniel’s ability to correctly interpret the communication. Furthermore, two of the divine communication announced coming judgements against Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar: judgements that were then fulfilled. This fact alone already indicates God’s sovereignty, but when the reason for the judgement is factored in, the theme becomes indisputable. The judgement occurred because these two kings dared to set themselves above the God of heaven, and acted prideful in the face of overwhelming evidence provided to them of God’s greatness and sovereignty.

The theme is not as clear cut in the Darius narrative, though it is there nonetheless. First of all, it is seen in Daniel’s salvation from the lion’s den. But even more important is the reason why he was thrown in to the lion’s den: that he made his petition to God, instead of Darius as was directed in the royal ordinance. Here, despite the absence of the “obvious” signs of God’s sovereignty seen in the previous narrative, the details of the story provide us with a way to see the theme coming through. God is the one to whom petitions must be made, and not man, even one as great as Darius.

In the second part of Daniel, the theme of God’s sovereignty comes through in two important ways. The first is in that that these prophecies are given at all, because implies a sort of sovereignty: at the very least it can be seen in the omniscience of the ability to foretell events yet to occur. I would even tend to go a step further and see God’s sovereignty in that this part indicates God’s ability to determine and direct the future of mankind, and not just in his ability to foretell the future. The second way which this sovereignty comes through is the scope and magnitude of the visions. These are not simple predictions made about the future, but grand visions of the rise and fall of nations and kingdoms.

Part 4: General Observations and Theological Insights

One of the most important subthemes of this book is the pride and folly of man, as it can naturally be set against the sovereignty of God. Reading through the first part, I could not help but think of the verse, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Rom. 1:21, ESV). In the Nebuchadnezzar narratives, it is very interesting to see that Nebuchadnezzar praises God numerous times in response to God’s various great manifestations. Nonetheless, while he acknowledges God’s greatness, he seems to be a step back from truly acknowledging God’s sovereignty even over himself, as indicated in his response to Daniel’s interpretation of his first dream “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Dan. 2:47, ESV). Clearly, God is mighty enough to reveal mysteries; maybe even mighty enough to be foremost among gods and kings. Yet, God apparently is not mighty enough over Nebuchadnezzar’s pride when he created the golden image and praised himself for his own glory and majesty.

Another subtheme clearly seen is how God delivers those who are faithful to him. Throughout this essay, I have chosen not to directly discuss the most obvious and well known narratives of Daniel: the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lion’s den. That is because it became quite clear to me that despite these stories being well known as stories of God’s deliverance, it seemed much more important to look at these stories of deliverance in light of the main theme. Simply put, these stories of deliverance serve the purpose of magnifying God’s sovereignty. Nonetheless, God does deliver those who are faithful to him. Beginning with Daniel and the other three’s health despite not eating the “superior” food of the king. How this deliverance actually works itself out, however, must be taken in to account. To be sure, it ended well for these four faithful exiles: they were delivered from fiery furnace and the lion’s den. Yet somehow, if it had gone the other way, God’s sovereignty would have been glorified anyway. As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego says to Nebuchadnezzar: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan. 3:17-18, ESV).

Part 5: Ideas for Preaching or Teaching

If I were to preach or teach through the book of Daniel, I would likely continue to hammer through those themes of God’s sovereignty and deliverance of the faithful. This will of course be quite easy through the narrative part, but would likely become quite difficult, through not impossible, in the prophecy part. In many parts of the prophetic section, it would likely suffice to examine the prophecies closely and see how God’s sovereignty will work itself out in the end of times. But in addition to that, there are other ways to enter in to the subthemes of the book.

One of these is an examination of Daniel’s prayer for his people in Daniel 9. In that chapter, Daniel’s pious concern for his people, and thus his faithfulness, comes out and receives an answer in the form of a response from the angel Gabriel. The response is a foretelling of the deliverance yet to come for God’s people. Another way to see God’s faithfulness to see how God delivers those who are faithful to him can be found in the next chapter, when the angel Gabriel once again comes down to comfort Daniel, this time from a terrifying vision. In this case, Gabriel informs Daniel that he actually did battle with the forces of evil just to come down and comfort him (Dan. 10:12-13). As such, God’s protection extends even to realms which don’t see.

Inductive Study on the Book of Amos

Part 1: Table of Contents

Part 2: Analysis of the Book’s Structure
The majority of the book contains prophecy written in the form of Hebrew Poetry. This is shown by the poetic device graded numbers in the initial proclamation of judgement against the Judah, Israel, and its surrounding in the first two chapters: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment” (Amos 1:3, ESV). Furthermore, this is seen in the numerous uses of the various forms of parallelism throughout the whole book. The content of these prophecies, as well as whom they are addressed to helps to distinguish the major sections of the book. Also, the various narrative interludes that the author includes help to frame the prophecies, and also aid in distinguishing the section.

The first major section of the prophecy contains judgements against the nations surrounding Judah and Israel. After an introductory note, judgement is proclaimed against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, the Ammonites, and Moab. These judgements follow a particular pattern, opening with the graded numbers poetic device “For three transgressions of… and for four, I will not revoke the punishment”, followed by the transgression of the offending nation, and closing with the judgement that will be sent against it.

While Amos 1:3 to 2:3 contained judgements against surrounding nations, Amos 2:4 turns the attention to Judah and Israel. These two judgements (verses 4-5 for Judah and 6-16 for Israel) follow the same poetic patterns of the earlier judgements against the surrounding nations. And so, they really ought to have been included in the previous division. However, as the shift is made to these two nations consisting of the people of God, I felt it deserved its own category. Nonetheless, what is clearly being shown in the first two chapters of Amos is that that there is no distinction between Judah, Israel, and its surrounding nations. They have succumbed to sin just as much as the evil nations surrounding them, and are just as deserving of punishment. This is reminiscent of a theme that was seen in the Book of Judges, the “Canaanization of Israel”. Although the people of Israel were supposed to transform the land of promise, they actually were themselves transformed by the land as a result of their apostasy from Yahweh.

Indeed, for that reason, not only does Israel deserve punishment as much as the surrounding nations, it will receive more. This is announced in the third major section, from Amos 3:1 to 4:13. This section is distinguished by the author’s narrative interlude in 3:1, “Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt” (ESV), which is different from the previous “Thus says the Lord” interludes that separated the previous pronouncements. Furthermore, the poetic structures change in the following judgements from being started by the graded number poetic device to just various forms of parallelisms. This section contains warnings against Israel.

The fourth major section, Amos 5:1 to 5:15, is also distinguished by the author’s interlude in which he first laments over their judgement, and then announces several ways for them to live: “Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said” (Amos 5:14, ESV). This hopeful section is short lived, however, as Amos 5:16 begin a new section of judgement that ends in 6:18. This section contain several subsections, following the initial pronouncement of judgement in 5:16-17, Amos 5:18 to 6:7 contain three woes directed to what seems to be the nobility and religious elite of Israel. Those who “desire the day of the Lord” (5:18), who are “at ease in Zion” (6:1), and who “lie in beds of ivory” (6:4). The section closes with a pronouncement of God’s punishment against them.

The sixth section of the book, the whole of chapter 7, turns its attention on the prophet Amos, who begins by attempting to intercede for the people of Israel, but who is then accused by these same people. Verses 1-6 alternates between Amos describing the destructive judgement that the Lord plans to deliver upon Israel, followed by Amos pleading for the Lord not to go through with that judgement, and then by the Lord relenting. Finally, the Lord shows Amos that he will be setting up a standard – a plumb line – in the midst of Israel, a standard which apparently the people will not be able to live up to. Indeed this is shown immediately as a short narrative sequence shows officials turning against Amos. To this, God makes the pronouncement “Israel shall surely go into exile from its land” (Amos 7:17, ESV).

This makes way for the next section, Amos 8:1 to 9:10, which declares that the end is nearing for the kingdom, and Israel will soon be destroyed. This prophetic section is marked by much poetry in the form of parallelism. It is not all bad, however, as the prophecy ends on a hopeful tone in the last section (separated for content, though part of the same poetry/prophecy) from Amos 9:11 to 9:15. This final section promises that a remnant shall remain and be restored to the land.

Part 3: Theme of the Book
The overwhelming theme of the book of Amos is the apostasy of the people of Israel and the coming judgement that will result from it. As already mentioned above, the book opens with a pronouncement against surrounding nations which, because of its poetic structure, indicates that at least part of Israel’s offence is how much it had become like the apostate nations around it. The further warnings against Israel in the third and fifth sections of the book, and even the fourth section which describe how one might “live” through the coming calamity, continue to build the case against Israel.

In terms of what Israel has done to deserve this punishment, the third section indicates that by and large, Israel has been oppressing the marginalized of society (Amos 3:9 & 4:1). This is made worse by their hypocrisy in continuing their religious service and sacrifices to God: “Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!” (Amos 4:5, ESV). Most clear, however, is that these two sinful acts are symptoms of Israel’s true problem: their growing distance from the Lord. This is shown by the fifth section which declares how the people might live through the calamity: “Seek the Lord and live” (Amos 5:6).

As if these prophetic pronouncements were not enough, a short narrative section goes on to illustrate further how bad the people of Israel have become. In Amos 7, despite successfully interceding for Israel, Amos is accused of conspiring against the nation. To this, the Lord responds: “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’” (Amos 7:16, ESV). This is then followed by the final judgement that the Lord pronounces against Israel.

Part 4: General Observations and Theological Insights
Despite the clear pronouncement of judgement against the clearly shown apostasy and evil of Israel, glimmers of hope can be seen in the book. Though the images of punishment and destruction that abound throughout Amos seem terrifyingly finite, the Lord does not forget his promise, and what the perpetuation of the people of Israel means to that. It is first seen in the “Seek the Lord” passages of Amos 5, where the possibility of surviving the judgement is shown. It is further seen in Amos’ attempt to intercede for the people of Israel, attempts to which the Lord relents, until Amos is accused of conspiracy. Most powerfully, though, is the prophecy of a remnant that will survive. It truly shows that while all is lost, it is not lost for all.

Another theological theme that can be discerned from this scripture is God’s concern for the oppressed and marginalized, and the inherent connection between that and the people’s apostasy. It would seem that the book of Amos is teaching that a sure sign of turning away from the Lord is the neglect of those of society who are most in need.

Part 5: Ideas for Preaching or Teaching
If I were to preach or teach through the book of Amos, I would likely do so thematically, rather than going through the book verse-by-verse. Although that kind of exegetical work can be accomplished, doing so would require going through large sections of text and would be quite time consuming. Rather, a “biblical theology” approach of looking at the large theological themes (as outlined above, and whatever else can be drawn out by even closer study of the book) would be preferable.

Additionally, it would surely be an excellent book from which to teach about social justice and how it is connected to the Gospel and to right Christian conduct, indeed as it says in James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (ESV)

Basic Translation

Verse 5: and / to be (PAI 3sg) / the / message / to be (AAI 3sg) / to hear (PerAI 1pl) / from / him / to announce (PAI 1pl) / to you / for / God / of light / to be (PAI 3sg) / and / darkness / in him / not / to be (PAI 3sg) at all

Verse 6: If / to say (AAS 1pl) that / fellowship / to have (PAI 1pl) / with him / and / in / the darkness /to walk (PAS 1pl) / to lie (PDI 1pl) / and / not / to practice (PAI 1pl) / the truth

Verse 7: If / but / in / the light / to walk (PAS 1pl) / just as / he / to be (PAI 3sg) / in / the light / fellowship / to have (PAU 1pl) / with / each other / and / the blood / of Jesus / the son / of him / to cleanse (PAI 3sg) / us / from / all / sin

Verse 8: If / to say (AAS 1pl) / that / sin / not / to have (PAI 1pl) / ourselves / to lead astray (PAI 1pl) / and / the truth / not / to be (PAI 3sg) / in / us

Verse 9: If / to confess (PAS 1pl) / the sins / of us / faithful / to be (PAI 3sg) / and just /so that / to forgive (AAS 3sg) / us / the sins / and / to cleanse (AAS 3sg) / us / from / all / unrighteousness

Verse 10: If / to say (AAS 1pl) / that / not / to sin (PerAI 1pl) / liar / to make (PAI 1pl) / him / and / the word / of him / not / to be (PAI 3sg) / in / us

Full Translation

So, this is the message which we have heard from him and are announcing to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. If we say that we have fellowship with but we walk in darkness then we are lying and are not practising the truth! But if we walk in the light, just as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his son, Jesus, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we do not have sin, then we lead ourselves astray, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just so that he might forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, then we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

Cathy Ramos