Lectionary Calendar
Monday, August 25th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Bible in Basic English

1 John 4:7

My loved ones, let us have love for one another: because love is of God, and everyone who has love is a child of God and has knowledge of God.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Commandments;   Fellowship;   Love;   Regeneration;   Righteous;   Righteousness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Brethren;   Brotherly Love;   Character Transformed;   Conversion;   Duty;   Holy Spirit;   John, Beloved Disciple;   Life-Death;   Love;   Love-Hatred;   New;   Regeneration;   Social Duties;   The Topic Concordance - Knowledge;   Love;   Rebirth/being Born Again;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Love to Man;   New Birth, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Love;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ethics;   Love;   Regeneration;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - God;   Life;   Love;   New Birth;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Sanctification;   Holman Bible Dictionary - John, the Letters of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - John, Epistles of;   Sin;   Spiritual Gifts;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Example;   Fellowship (2);   John Epistles of;   Knowledge;   Life and Death;   Love;   Perseverance;   Regeneration;   Righteous, Righteousness;   Sanctify, Sanctification;   Socialism;   World;   Smith Bible Dictionary - John, the First Epistle General of;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - John the Baptist;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bear;   Begotten;   Brotherly Kindness;   Johannine Theology, the;   John, the Epistles of;   Love;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for May 12;   Every Day Light - Devotion for November 28;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
King James Version (1611)
Beloued, let vs loue one another; for loue is of God: and euery one that loueth, is borne of God and knoweth God.
King James Version
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
English Standard Version
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
New American Standard Bible
Beloved, let's love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
New Century Version
Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God's child and knows God.
THE MESSAGE
My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Berean Standard Bible
Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Contemporary English Version
My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him.
Complete Jewish Bible
Beloved friends, let us love one another; because love is from God; and everyone who loves has God as his Father and knows God.
Darby Translation
Beloved, let us love one another; because love is of God, and every one that loves has been begotten of God, and knows God.
Easy-to-Read Version
Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God's child. And so everyone who loves knows God.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Beloued, let vs loue one another: for loue commeth of God, & euery one that loueth, is borne of God, and knoweth God.
George Lamsa Translation
My beloved, let us love one another: for love is from God; and every one who loves is born of God, and knows God.
Good News Translation
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God.
Lexham English Bible
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.
Literal Translation
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and everyone who loves has been generated from God, and knows God.
Amplified Bible
Beloved, let us [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience].
American Standard Version
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.
Hebrew Names Version
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God.
International Standard Version
Dear friends, let us continually love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God.1 John 3:10-11,22;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
my beloved, let us love one another, because love is of Aloha; and every one who loveth from Aloha is born, and knoweth Aloha.
Murdock Translation
My beloved, let us love one another: because love is from God; and whoever loveth, is born of God and knoweth God.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Dearely beloued, let vs loue one another, for loue commeth of God: And euery one that loueth, is borne of God, and knoweth God.
English Revised Version
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.
World English Bible
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
Weymouth's New Testament
Dear friends, let us love one another; for love has its origin in God, and every one who loves has become a child of God and is beginning to know God.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Moost dere britheren, loue we togidere, for charite is of God; and ech that loueth his brother, is borun of God, and knowith God.
Update Bible Version
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is begotten of God, and knows God.
Webster's Bible Translation
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is from God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
New English Translation
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.
New King James Version
John 3:16">[xr] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
New Living Translation
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.
New Life Bible
Dear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. Those who love are God's children and they know God.
New Revised Standard
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Beloved! let us be loving one another; because, love, is, of God, and, whosoever loveth, of God, hath been born, and is getting to understand God:
Douay-Rheims Bible
Dearly beloved, let us love one another: for charity is of God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
Revised Standard Version
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Beloved let vs love one another: for love cometh of God. And every one that loveth is borne of God and knoweth God.
Young's Literal Translation
Beloved, may we love one another, because the love is of God, and every one who is loving, of God he hath been begotten, and doth know God;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Dearly beloued, let vs loue one another, for loue commeth of God. And euery one yt loueth, is borne of God, and knoweth God.
Mace New Testament (1729)
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Cowboys, we've got to love one another. God loves us and we pay it forward to others. Whoever loves another rides for God and knows Him.

Contextual Overview

7 My loved ones, let us have love for one another: because love is of God, and everyone who has love is a child of God and has knowledge of God. 8 He who has no love has no knowledge of God, because God is love. 9 And the love of God was made clear to us when he sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. 10 And this is love, not that we had love for God, but that he had love for us, and sent his Son to be an offering for our sins. 11 My loved ones, if God had such love for us, it is right for us to have love for one another. 12 No man has ever seen God: if we have love for one another, God is in us and his love is made complete in us: 13 And his Spirit which he has given us is the witness that we are in him and he is in us.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

let: 1 John 4:20, 1 John 4:21, 1 John 2:10, 1 John 3:10-23, 1 John 5:1

love is: 1 John 4:8, Deuteronomy 30:6, Galatians 5:22, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:10, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 Peter 1:22

every: 1 John 4:12, 1 John 2:29, 1 John 3:14, 1 John 5:1

and knoweth: John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Galatians 4:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:8 - brethren Psalms 26:3 - For Psalms 34:8 - Lord Psalms 52:1 - goodness Matthew 22:40 - General Matthew 25:40 - Inasmuch Mark 12:31 - Thou Luke 6:35 - and ye John 1:13 - were John 13:34 - That ye love John 15:13 - General 1 Corinthians 5:10 - of this 1 Corinthians 13:13 - charity 1 Corinthians 16:14 - General Philippians 2:1 - if any comfort Colossians 3:14 - the 1 Thessalonians 3:12 - love 1 Timothy 1:5 - the end Hebrews 13:1 - General 1 Peter 1:3 - hath 1 John 3:9 - born 1 John 3:11 - that we 1 John 3:24 - dwelleth 2 John 1:5 - that we

Cross-References

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said, Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children come to birth; still your desire will be for your husband, but he will be your master.
Genesis 4:6
And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? and why is your face sad?
Genesis 4:8
And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field: and when they were in the field, Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death.
Genesis 4:9
And the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I have no idea: am I my brother's keeper?
Genesis 4:10
And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the earth.
Genesis 4:11
And now you are cursed from the earth, whose mouth is open to take your brother's blood from your hand;
Genesis 4:12
No longer will the earth give you her fruit as the reward of your work; you will be a wanderer in flight over the earth.
Genesis 4:13
And Cain said, My punishment is greater than my strength.
Genesis 19:21
And he said, See, I have given you your request in this one thing more: I will not send destruction on this town.
Numbers 32:23
But if you do not do this, then you are sinners against the Lord; and you may be certain that your sin will have its reward.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Beloved, let its love one another,.... The apostle having finished what he proposed to say concerning the trying of spirits, returns to his former exhortation to brotherly love, and which comes with fresh force and strength; for since worldly men follow, hear, embrace, and cleave to the false teachers; such as are of God, and on the side of truth, should love one another, and their faithful ministers, and stand fast in one spirit by the truths of the Gospel, in opposition to every error:

for love is of God: to love one another is the command of God, it is his revealed will, and is well pleasing in his sight; it comes from him, is a gift of his grace, and a fruit of his Spirit, and which he teaches regenerate ones to exercise:

and everyone that loveth God, as the Alexandrian copy reads, or Christ, and the saints, who seem to be particularly meant:

is born of God; for love to the brethren is an evidence of regeneration; :-;

and knoweth God; he knows God in Christ, and therefore loves those who have the grace of God in them, and the image of Christ upon them; he knows the mind and will of God, being taught of God to love the brethren; and he knows the love of God, and has had an experience of the grace of God, which influences him to love the saints.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Beloved, let us love one another - This verse introduces a new topic, the consideration of which occupies the remainder of the chapter. See the Analysis. The subject is one on which John dwells more than on any other - that of love. His own character especially inclined him to the exercise of love; and the remarkable affection which the Lord Jesus had shown for him, seems to have had the effect to give this grace a special prominence in his views of what constituted true religion. Compare John 13:23. On the duty here enjoined, see the John 13:34-35 notes, and 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23 notes.

For love is of God -

  1. All true love has its origin in God.

(2)Real love shows that we have his Spirit, and that we belong to him.

(3)It assimilates us to God, or makes us more and more like him.

What is here said by the apostle is based on the truth of what he elsewhere affirms, 1 John 4:8, that God is love. Hatred, envy, wrath, malice, all have their source in something else than God. He neither originates them, commends them, nor approves them.

And everyone that loveth, is born of God - Is a regenerated man. That is, everyone who has true love to Christians as such, or true brotherly love, is a true Christian. This cannot mean that everyone that loves his wife and children, his classmate, his partner in business, or his friend - his house, or his farms, or his horses, or his hounds, is a child of God; it must be understood as referring to the point under discussion. A man may have a great deal of natural affection toward his kindred; a great deal of benevolence in his character toward the poor and needy, and still he may have none of the love to which John refers. He may have no real love to God, to the Saviour, or to the children of God as such; and it would be absurd for such a one to argue because he loves his wife and children that therefore he loves God, or is born again.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another — And ever be ready to promote each other's welfare, both spiritual and temporal.

For love is of God — And ever acts like him; he loves man, and daily loads him with his benefits. He that loveth most has most of God in him; and he that loveth God and his neighbour, as before described and commanded, is born of God, εκτουθεουγεγεννηται, is begotten of God-is a true child of his heavenly Father, for he is made a partaker of the Divine nature; and this his love to God and man proves.


 
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