1 John 2:17

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

King James Version (1611)
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but hee that doeth the will of God, abideth for euer.

King James Version
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

English Standard Version
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

New American Standard Bible
The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.

New Century Version
The world and everything that people want in it are passing away, but the person who does what God wants lives forever.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Berean Standard Bible
The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Contemporary English Version
The world and the desires it causes are disappearing. But if we obey God, we will live forever.

Complete Jewish Bible
And the world is passing away, along with its desires. But whoever does God's will remains forever.

Darby Translation
And the world is passing, and its lust, but he that does the will of God abides for eternity.

Easy-to-Read Version
The world is passing away, and all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But whoever does what God wants will live forever.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And this world passeth away, & the lust thereof: but he that fulfilleth the will of God, abideth euer.

George Lamsa Translation
And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Good News Translation
The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.

Lexham English Bible
And the world is passing away, and its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

Literal Translation
And the world is passing away, and its lust. But the one doing the will of God abides forever.

Amplified Bible
The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.

American Standard Version
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Bible in Basic English
And the world and its desires is coming to an end: but he who does God's pleasure is living for ever.

Hebrew Names Version
The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God's will remains forever.

International Standard Version
And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God's will remains forever.1 Corinthians 7:31; James 1:10; 4:14; 1 Peter 1:24;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And the world passeth, (both) it and its lusts; but he who doeth the will of Aloha, continueth for ever.

Murdock Translation
17 And the world is passing away, [fn] it and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the pleasure of God, abideth for ever.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the worlde passeth away, and the luste thereof: but he that fulfylleth the wyll of God, abydeth for euer.

English Revised Version
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

World English Bible
The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God's will remains forever.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the world passeth away, and the desire thereof; but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.

Weymouth's New Testament
And the world, with its cravings, is passing away, but he who does God's will continues for ever.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the world schal passe, and the coueitise of it; but he that doith the wille of God, dwellith with outen ende.

Update Bible Version
And the world passes away, and the desire thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the world passeth away, and the lust of it: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

New English Translation
And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.

New King James Version
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

New Living Translation
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

New Life Bible
The world and all its desires will pass away. But the man who obeys God and does what He wants done will live forever.

New Revised Standard
And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, the world, passeth away, and the coveting thereof, but, he that doeth the will of God, endureth unto times age-abiding.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the world passeth away and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.

Revised Standard Version
And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And the worlde vannyssheth awaye and the lust therof: but he that fulfilleth the will of god abydeth ever.

Young's Literal Translation
and the world doth pass away, and the desire of it, and he who is doing the will of God, he doth remain -- to the age.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the worlde passeth awaye and the lust therof. But he that fulfylleth the wyll of God, abydeth for euer.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and the world is passing away, with all its vices: but he that obeys the divine will, shall enjoy a life of immortality.

Simplified Cowboy Version
This entire world is gripped in the throes of death. This world's desires are passing away like paper in a fire. But those who ride for God will live forever.

Contextual Overview

¹²I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One. And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and strength! God's word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One. Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. Children, time is just about up. You heard that Antichrist is coming. Well, they're all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look. That's how we know that we're close to the end. They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong. But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven't been writing this to tell you something you don't know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn't breed lies. So who is lying here? It's the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that's who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son. No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well. Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life! I've written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But they're no match for what is embedded deeply within you—Christ's anointing, no less! You don't need any of their so-called teaching. Christ's anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught. And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives. Once you're convinced that he is right and righteous, you'll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God's true children. ¹⁴ I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world's. Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments. If someone claims, "I know him well!" but doesn't keep his commandments, he's obviously a liar. His life doesn't match his words. But the one who keeps God's word is the person in whom we see God's mature love. This is the only way to be sure we're in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived. My dear friends, I'm not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you've known it from day one. It's always been implicit in the Message you've heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you—the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing! Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness. I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One. And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and strength! God's word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One. ¹⁵Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the world: Psalms 39:6, Psalms 73:18-20, Psalms 90:9, Psalms 102:26, Isaiah 40:6-8, Matthew 24:35, 1 Corinthians 7:31, James 1:10, James 1:11, James 4:14, 1 Peter 1:24

but: Psalms 143:10, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 21:31, Mark 3:35, John 7:17, Romans 12:2, Colossians 1:9, Colossians 4:12, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Hebrews 10:36, 1 Peter 4:2

abideth: Psalms 125:1, Psalms 125:2, Proverbs 10:25, John 4:14, John 6:58, John 10:28-30, 1 Peter 1:5, 1 Peter 1:25

Reciprocal: Psalms 37:27 - do good Ecclesiastes 2:11 - I looked Matthew 12:50 - do 1 Corinthians 6:2 - the smallest 1 Corinthians 7:29 - the time 2 Corinthians 4:18 - for Ephesians 6:6 - doing Hebrews 13:21 - to do 2 John 1:2 - which Revelation 18:14 - thy soul Revelation 21:4 - the former

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.

Genesis 2:10
A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Genesis 2:18
God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion.

Genesis 2:21
God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

Genesis 3:11
God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"

Genesis 3:17
He told the Man: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree That I commanded you not to eat from, ‘Don't eat from this tree,' The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you'll get your food the hard way, Planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."

Deuteronomy 30:15
Look at what I've done for you today: I've placed in front of you Life and Good Death and Evil.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God , your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God , your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

1 Samuel 14:44
Saul said, "Yes. Jonathan most certainly will die. It's out of my hands—I can't go against God, can I?"

1 Samuel 22:16
The king said, "Death, Ahimelech! You're going to die—you and everyone in your family!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the world passeth away,.... Not the matter and substance, but the fashion, form, and scheme of it, 1 Corinthians 7:31; kingdoms, cities, towns, houses, families, estates, and possessions, are continually changing, and casting into different hands, and different forms; the men of the world, the inhabitants of it, are continually removing; one generation goes, and another comes, new faces are continually appearing; the riches and honours of the world are fading, perishing, and transitory things; everything is upon the flux, nothing is permanent; which is another argument why the world, and the things of it, are not to be loved:

and the lust thereof; also passes away; and objects of lust are fading and fleeting, as beauty, and riches, and honours; these are continually taking away from men, or men are taken away from them, and will not be hereafter; and even the pleasure of lust itself passes away as soon as enjoyed; the pleasures of sin are but for a season, and a very short one; and are indeed but imaginary, and leave a real bitterness and sorrow behind them, and at length bring a man to ruin and destruction:

but he that doeth the will of God; not perfectly as contained in the law, which is the good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God; for no man can do that in such a manner, though a regenerate man desires to do it, even as it is done in heaven, and serves the law of God with his mind, and under the influence of the Spirit of God; and does walk in his statutes, and keeps his judgments from a principle of love, in faith, and without mercenary views and sinister ends, without depending on what he does for life and salvation; and such an one may be said to be a doer of the will of God: though rather here it intends such an one as believes in Christ, as the propitiation for his sins, and as his advocate with the Father, and who, makes Christ his pattern and example, and walks as he walked; and particularly observes the new commandment of love, loves God, and Christ, and his fellow Christians, and not the world, and the things of it: and such a man is happy, for he

abideth for ever; in the love of God, which will never depart from him, nor shall he be separated from that; and in the hands and arms of Christ, out of which none can pluck him; and in the family and household of God, where he, as a son, abides for ever, and shall never be cast out; and in a state of justification, and shall never enter into condemnation; and in a state of grace and holiness, from whence he shall never fall totally and finally; and in heaven with Christ to all eternity: the reason of this his abiding is not his doing the will of God, which is only descriptive of him manifestatively, and not the cause of his perpetuity and immovableness; but his eternal election of God, which stands sure, not on the foot of works, but of him that calleth; and the covenant of grace in which he is interested, and which is immovable, sure, firm, and inviolable; and the foundation Jesus Christ, on which he is built; and the principle of grace in him, which always remains, and is connected with eternal life.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the world passeth away - Everything properly constituting this world where religion is excluded. The reference here does not seem to be so much to the material world, as to the scenes of show and vanity which make up the world. These things are passing away like the shifting scenes of the stage. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 7:31.

And the lust thereof - All that is here so much the object of desire. These things are like a pageant, which only amuses the eye for a moment, and then disappears forever.

But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever - This cannot mean that he will never die; but it means that he has built his happiness on a basis which is secure, and which can never pass away. Compare the notes at Matthew 7:24-27.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 17. The world passeth away — All these things are continually fading and perishing; and the very state in which they are possessed is changing perpetually, and the earth and its works will be shortly burnt up.

And the lust thereof — The men of this world, their vain pursuits, and delusive pleasures, are passing away in their successive generations, and their very memory perishes; but he that doeth the will of God-that seeks the pleasure, profit, and honour that comes from above, shall abide for ever, always happy through time and eternity, because God, the unchangeable source of felicity, is his portion.