1 John 3:5

Amplified Bible

You know that He appeared [in visible form as a man] in order to take away sins; and in Him there is [absolutely] no sin [for He has neither the sin nature nor has He committed sin or acts worthy of blame].

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him.

King James Version (1611)
And ye know that hee was manifested to take away our sinnes, and in him is no sinne.

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

English Standard Version
You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

New American Standard Bible
You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

New Century Version
You know that Christ came to take away sins and that there is no sin in Christ.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

Berean Standard Bible
But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.

Contemporary English Version
You know that Christ came to take away sins. He isn't sinful,

Complete Jewish Bible
You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him.

Darby Translation
And ye know that *he* has been manifested that he might take away our sins; and in him sin is not.

Easy-to-Read Version
You know that Christ came to take away people's sins. There is no sin in Christ.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And ye knowe that hee was made manifest, that he might take away our sinnes, and in him is no sinne.

George Lamsa Translation
And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Good News Translation
You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him.

Lexham English Bible
And you know that that one was revealed in order that he might take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Literal Translation
And you know that that One was revealed that He might take away our sins, and sin is not in Him.

American Standard Version
And ye know that he was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin.

Bible in Basic English
And you have knowledge that he came to take away sin: and in him there is no sin.

Hebrew Names Version
You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.

International Standard Version
You know that he was revealed to take away sins,our sins">[fn] and there is not any sin in him.Isaiah 53:5-6,11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Timothy 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; 4:15; Isaiah 53:5-6,11, 1 Peter 2:22,24; 1 John 1:2;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And you know that he was manifested to bear our sins, and sin in him is not.

Murdock Translation
And ye know, that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him was no sin.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And ye know that he appeared to take away our sinnes, & in hym is no sinne.

English Revised Version
And ye know that he was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin.

World English Bible
You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.

Weymouth's New Testament
And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And ye witen, that he apperide to do awei synnes, and synne is not in hym.

Update Bible Version
And you know that he was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin.

Webster's Bible Translation
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

New English Translation
And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

New King James Version
And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

New Living Translation
And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.

New Life Bible
You know that Christ came to take away our sins. There is no sin in Him.

New Revised Standard
You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And ye know, that, He, was made manifest - in order that, our sins, he should take away, and, sin, in him, is there none.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And you know that he appeared to take away our sins: and in him there is no sin.

Revised Standard Version
You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And ye knowe that he appered to take awaye oure synnes and in him is no synne.

Young's Literal Translation
and ye have known that he was manifested that our sins he may take away, and sin is not in him;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And ye knowe that he appeared to take awaye oure synnes: and in him is no synne.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and you know that he appear'd to abolish our sins; and that he was himself without sin.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Jesus came to save us from our sins. He was the only one who could because he never sinned himself.

Contextual Overview

⁴Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness [ignoring God's law by action or neglect or by tolerating wrongdoing—being unrestrained by His commands and His will]. ⁵You know that He appeared [in visible form as a man] in order to take away sins; and in Him there is [absolutely] no sin [for He has neither the sin nature nor has He committed sin or acts worthy of blame].⁶No one who abides in Him [who remains united in fellowship with Him—deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin. No one who habitually sins has seen Him or known Him. ⁷Little children (believers, dear ones), do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who practices righteousness [the one who strives to live a consistently honorable life—in private as well as in public—and to conform to God's precepts] is righteous, just as He is righteous. ⁸The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God's law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, because God's seed [His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character] remains [permanently] in him [who is born again—who is reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose]; and he [who is born again] cannot habitually [live a life characterized by] sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him. ¹⁰By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God's will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he: 1 John 1:2, 1 John 4:9-14, John 1:31, 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 1:20

to: 1 John 1:7, Isaiah 53:4-12, Hosea 14:2, Matthew 1:21, John 1:29, Romans 3:24-26, Ephesians 5:25-27, 1 Timothy 1:15, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 9:26, Hebrews 9:28, 1 Peter 2:24, Revelation 1:5

in: 1 John 2:1, Luke 23:41, Luke 23:47, John 8:46, John 14:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 7:26, Hebrews 9:28, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 Peter 3:18

Reciprocal: Job 7:21 - take away Psalms 130:8 - he shall redeem Isaiah 42:21 - he will Isaiah 53:9 - deceit John 19:4 - that ye Acts 3:26 - in Galatians 2:17 - is Hebrews 9:14 - without Hebrews 10:4 - take 1 John 1:8 - say 1 John 2:29 - he is 1 John 3:8 - this purpose

Cross-References

Genesis 2:17
but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience]."

Genesis 3:2
And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden,

Genesis 3:3
except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, 'You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.'"

Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Genesis 3:10
He said, "I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."

Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree]."

Genesis 3:14
The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all the cattle, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15
"And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel."

Genesis 3:22
And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), knowing [how to distinguish between] good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take from the tree of life as well, and eat [its fruit], and live [in this fallen, sinful condition] forever"—

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And ye know that he was manifested,.... This is a truth of the Gospel the saints were well instructed in and acquainted with; that Jesus Christ, the Word and Son of God, who is here meant, who was with the Father, and lay in his bosom from all eternity, was in the fulness of time made manifest in the flesh, or human nature, by assuming it into union with his divine person; in which he came and dwelt among men, and became visible to them: the end of which manifestation was,

to take away our sins; as the antitype of the scape goat, making reconciliation and satisfaction for them, through the sacrifice of himself; which was doing what the blood of bulls and goats, or any legal sacrifices or moral performances, could never do: and this he did by taking the sins of his people upon himself, by carrying them up to the cross, and there bearing them, with all the punishment due unto them, in his body; by removing them quite away, and utterly destroying them, finishing and making an end of them: and by causing them to pass away from them, from off their consciences, through the application of his blood by his Spirit:

and in him is no sin; neither original, nor actual; no sin inherent; there was sin imputed to him, but none in him, nor done by him; and hence he became a fit person to be a sacrifice for the sins of others, and by his unblemished sacrifice to take the away; and answered the typical sacrifices under the law, which were to be without spot and blemish: and this shows that he did not offer himself for any sins of his own, for there were none in him, but for the sins of others; and which consideration, therefore, is a strong dissuasive from sinning, and as such is mentioned by the apostle; for, since sin is of such a nature that nothing could atone for it but the blood and sacrifice of Christ, an innocent, as well as a divine person, it should be abhorred by us; and since Christ has taken it away by the sacrifice of himself, it should not be continued and encouraged by us; and since in him is no sin, we ought to imitate him in purity of life and conversation; the end of Christ's bearing our sins was, that we might live unto righteousness, and to purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; and his love herein should constrain us to obedience to him: so the Jews l speak of a man after the image of God, and who is the mystery, of the name Jehovah; and in that man, they say, there is no sin, neither shall death rule over him; and this is that which is said, Psalms 5:4; neither shall evil dwell with thee.

l Sepher Tikkunim, fol. 112. 1. apud Rittangel, de ver. Rel. Christ, p. 68.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And ye know that he was manifested - The Lord Jesus, the Son of God. “You know that he became incarnate, or appeared among people, for the very purpose of putting an end to sin,” Matthew 1:21. Compare the notes at 1 Timothy 3:16. This is the “second” argument in this paragraph, 1 John 3:4-10, by which the apostle would deter us from sin. The argument is a clear one, and is perhaps the strongest that can be made to bear on the mind of a true Christian - that the Lord Jesus saw sin to be so great an evil, that he came into our world, and gave himself to the bitter sorrows of death on the cross, to redeem us from it.

To take away our sins - The essential argument here is, that the whole work of Christ was designed to deliver us from the dominion of sin, not to furnish us the means of indulgence in it; and that, therefore, we should be deterred from it by all that Christ has done and suffered for us. He perverts the whole design of the coming of the Saviour who supposes that his work was in any degree designed to procure for his followers the indulgences of sin, or who so interprets the methods of his grace as to suppose that it is now lawful for him to indulge his guilty passions. The argument essentially is this:

1. That we profess to be the followers of Christ, and should carry out his ends and views in coming into the world;

(2)That the great and leading purpose of his coming was to set us free from the bondage of transgression;

(3)That in doing this he gave himself up to a life of poverty, and shame, and sorrow, and to a most bitter death on the cross; and,

(4)That we should not indulge in that from which he came to deliver us, and which cost him so much toil and such a death. How could we indulge in that which has brought heavy calamity upon the head of a father, or which has pierced a sister’s heart with many sorrows? Still more, how can we be so ungrateful and hardhearted as to indulge in that which crushed our Redeemer in death?

And in him is no sin - An additional consideration to show that we should be holy. As he was perfectly pure and spotless, so should all his followers aim to be; and none can truly pretend to be his who do not desire and design to become like him. On the personal holiness of the Lord Jesus, see the Hebrews 7:26 note, and 1 Peter 2:23 note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 John 3:5. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins — He came into the world to destroy the power, pardon the guilt, and cleanse from the pollution of sin. This was the very design of his manifestation in the flesh. He was born, suffered, and died for this very purpose; and can it be supposed that he either cannot or will not accomplish the object of his own coming?

In him is no sin. — And therefore he is properly qualified to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of men.