Walking in Light, Speaking God's Word

1. Of the children of Ammon. Yahweh says: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in its cities? 2. Therefore behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it will become a desolate heap, and her daughters will be burned with fire: then Israel will possess those who possessed him,” says Yahweh. 3. “Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah! Clothe yourself in sackcloth. Lament, and run back and forth among the fences; for Malcam will go into captivity, his priests and his princes together. 4. Why do you boast in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? You trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come to me?’ 5. Behold, I will bring a terror on you,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, “from all who are around you. All of you will be driven completely out, and there will be no one to gather together the fugitives. 6. “But afterward I will reverse the captivity of the children of Ammon,” says Yahweh. 7. Of Edom, Yahweh of Armies says: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? 8. Flee! Turn back! Dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him when I visit him. 9. If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves came by night, wouldn’t they steal until they had enough? 10. But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he will not be able to hide himself. His offspring is destroyed, with his brothers and his neighbors; and he is no more. 11. Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive. Let your widows trust in me.” 12. For Yahweh says: “Behold, they to whom it didn’t pertain to drink of the cup will certainly drink; and are you he who will altogether go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished, but you will surely drink. 13. For I have sworn by myself,” says Yahweh, “that Bozrah will become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. All its cities will be perpetual wastes.” 14. I have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Gather yourselves together! Come against her! Rise up to the battle!” 15. “For, behold, I have made you small among the nations, and despised among men. 16. As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh. 17. “Edom will become an astonishment. Everyone who passes by it will be astonished, and will hiss at all its plagues. 18. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbor cities,” says Yahweh, “no man will dwell there, neither will any son of man live therein. 19. “Behold, he will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it. For who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who will stand before me?” 20. Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they will drag them away, the little ones of the flock. Surely he will make their habitation desolate over them. 21. The earth trembles at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea. 22. Behold, he will come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah. The heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day will be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 23. Of Damascus: “Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil news. They have melted away. There is sorrow on the sea. It can’t be quiet. 24. Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail. 25. How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy? 26. Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all the men of war will be brought to silence in that day,” says Yahweh of Armies. 27. “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.” 28. Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. Yahweh says: “Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east. 29. They will take their tents and their flocks. they will carry away for themselves their curtains, all their vessels, and their camels; and they will cry to them, ‘Terror on every side!’ 30. Flee! Wander far off! Dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor,” says Yahweh; “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, and has conceived a purpose against you. 31. Arise! Go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care,” says Yahweh; “that has neither gates nor bars, that dwells alone. 32. Their camels will be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a plunder. I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their beards cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them,” says Yahweh. 33. Hazor will be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever. No man will dwell there, neither will any son of man live therein.” 34. Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35. “Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. 36. I will bring on Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds. There will be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not come. 37. I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life. I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger,’ says Yahweh; ‘and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them. 38. I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and princes,’ says Yahweh. 39. ‘But it will happen in the latter days that I will reverse the captivity of Elam,’ says Yahweh.” 1. The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet. 2. “Declare among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and don’t conceal: say, ‘Babylon has been taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed! Her images are disappointed. Her idols are dismayed.’ 3. For a nation comes up out of the north against her, which will make her land desolate, and no one will dwell in it. They have fled. They are gone, both man and animal. 4. “In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on their way weeping, and will seek Yahweh their God. 5. They will inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, and join yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.’ 6. My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have caused them to go astray. They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place. 7. All who found them have devoured them. Their adversaries said, ‘We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Yahweh, the habitation of righteousness, even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.’ 8. “Flee out of the middle of Babylon! Go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks. 9. For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they will set themselves in array against her. She will be taken from there. Their arrows will be as of an expert mighty man. None of them will return in vain. 10. Chaldea will be a prey. All who prey on her will be satisfied,” says Yahweh. 11. “Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out the grain, and neigh as strong horses; 12. your mother will be utterly disappointed. She who bore you will be confounded. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. 13. Because of Yahweh’s wrath she won’t be inhabited, but she will be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes by Babylon will be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. 14. Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around, all you who bend the bow; shoot at her. Spare no arrows; for she has sinned against Yahweh. 15. Shout against her all around. She has submitted herself. Her bulwarks have fallen. Her walls have been thrown down, for it is the vengeance of Yahweh. Take vengeance on her. As she has done, do to her. 16. Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest. For fear of the oppressing sword, they will each return to their own people, and they will each flee to their own land. 17. “Israel is a hunted sheep. The lions have driven him away. First, the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.” 18. Therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. 19. I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan. His soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. 20. In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the iniquity of Israel will be sought for, and there will be none; also the sins of Judah, and they won’t be found; for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant. 21. “Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod. Kill and utterly destroy after them,” says Yahweh, “and do according to all that I have commanded you. 22. A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. 23. How the hammer of the whole earth is cut apart and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! 24. I have laid a snare for you, and you are also taken, Babylon, and you weren’t aware. You are found, and also caught, because you have fought against Yahweh. 25. Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought out the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans. 26. Come against her from the farthest border. Open her storehouses. Cast her up as heaps. Destroy her utterly. Let nothing of her be left. 27. Kill all her bulls. Let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their visitation. 28. Listen to those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance of his temple. 29. “Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp against her all around. Let none of it escape. Pay her back according to her work. According to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel. 30. Therefore her young men will fall in her streets. All her men of war will be brought to silence in that day,” says Yahweh. 31. “Behold, I am against you, you proud one,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies; “for your day has come, the time that I will visit you. 32. The proud one will stumble and fall, and no one will raise him up. I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all who are around him.” 33. Yahweh of Armies says: “The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together. All who took them captive hold them fast. They refuse to let them go. 34. Their Redeemer is strong: Yahweh of Armies is his name. He will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 35. “A sword is on the Chaldeans,” says Yahweh, “and on the inhabitants of Babylon, on her princes, and on her wise men. 36. A sword is on the boasters, and they will become fools. A sword is on her mighty men, and they will be dismayed. 37. A sword is on their horses, on their chariots, and on all the mixed people who are in the middle of her; and they will become as women. A sword is on her treasures, and they will be robbed. 38. A drought is on her waters, and they will be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they are mad over idols. 39. Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves will dwell there. The ostriches will dwell therein; and it will be inhabited no more forever; neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. 40. As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbor cities,” says Yahweh, “so no man will dwell there, neither will any son of man live therein. 41. “Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. 42. They take up bow and spear. They are cruel, and have no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea. They ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Babylon. 43. The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands become feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, pains as of a woman in labor. 44. Behold, the enemy will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run away from it. Whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it; for who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?” 45. Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they will drag them away, even the little ones of the flock. Surely he will make their habitation desolate over them. 46. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles; and the cry is heard among the nations.

1. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life 2. (and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); 3. that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4. And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled. 5. This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth. 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10. If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1. My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 2. And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. 3. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. 4. One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. 5. But whoever keeps his word, God’s love has most certainly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him: 6. he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked. 7. Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 8. Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines. 9. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in the darkness even until now. 10. He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him. 11. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. 13. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. 14. I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15. Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 17. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever. 18. Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. 19. They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. 20. You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21. I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23. Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24. Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. 25. This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life. 26. These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 27. As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him. 28. Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. 1. See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. 2. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is. 3. Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure. 4. Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. 5. You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. 6. Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him. 7. Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9. Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can’t sin, because he is born of God. 10. In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother. 11. For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12. unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous. 13. Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death. 15. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. 16. By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him? 18. My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth. 19. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and persuade our hearts before him, 20. because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21. Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God; 22. and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. 23. This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded. 24. He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us. 1. Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3. and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already. 4. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. 5. They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. 6. We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God. 8. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. 9. By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. 12. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. 13. By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world. 15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16. We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17. In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world. 18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love. 19. We love him, because he first loved us. 20. If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21. This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother. 1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him. 2. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. 3. For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous. 4. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith. 5. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6. This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7. For there are three who testify: 8. the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one. 9. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which he has testified concerning his Son. 10. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11. The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12. He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life. 13. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 14. This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us. 15. And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him. 16. If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don’t say that he should make a request concerning this. 17. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. 18. We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him. 19. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20. We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

1. Give ear to my words, Yahweh. Consider my meditation. 2. Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God; for to you do I pray. 3. Yahweh, in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly. 4. For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness. Evil can’t live with you. 5. The arrogant shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity. 6. You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7. But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you. 8. Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face. 9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue. 10. Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you. 11. But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice, Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you. 12. For you will bless the righteous. Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.