Today during lunch I translated 1 John 1:5 – 2:5 from Greek into English. It was presented as an exercise in Dr. Mounce‘s workbook, which is why it sort of just ends at a strange place. I’m going to include the text twice; first broken down by verse, with the Greek on top and the English below it, and then just as one big block of English text, like you’d expect to see it.

If, by some chance, your browser isn’t displaying the Greek properly, you can download a PDF.

If you want to critique my translation, feel free. Just be kind, OK? I thought I did pretty well with it.

1 John 1:5 – 2:5

⁵Καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ ἀγγελία ἥν ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς φῶς ἐστιν καὶ σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία.

And this is the message which we have heard from him and we proclaim to you, that God is light and there is no darkness in him whatsoever.

⁶Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ σκότει περιπατῶμεν, ψευδόμεθα καὶ οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν·

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth;

⁷ἐὰν δὲ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ περιπατῶμεν ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ φωτί, κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων καὶ τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ καθαρίζει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας.

But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from every sin.

⁸ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔχομεν, ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

⁹ἐὰν ὁμολογῶμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος, ἵνα ἀφῇ ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσησ ἀδικίας.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, that he might forgive us our sins and he will cleanse us from every unrighteousness.

¹⁰ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι οὐχ ἡμαρτήκαμεν, ψεύστην ποιοῦμεν αὐτὸν καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

¹Τεκνία μου, ταῦτα γράφω ὑμῖν ἵνα μὴ ἁμάρτητε. καὶ ἐὰν τις ἁμάρτῃ, παράκλητον ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν δίκαιον·

My dear children, I write these things to you in order that you might not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the father, namely Jesus Christ, the righteous;

²καὶ αὐτὸς ἱλασμός ἐστιν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, οὐ περὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων δὲ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου.

And He is an atoning sacrifice for our sins, not only for ours but also for the whole world.

³καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐγνώκαμεν αὐτὸν, ἐὰν τὰς ἐντολὰς ἀυτοῦ τηρῶμεν.

And in this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments.

⁴ὁ λέγων ὅτι ἔγνωκα αὐτὸν καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὺτοῦ μὴ τηρῶν, ψεύστης ἐστὶν καὶ ἐν τοῦτῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν·

The one who says “I have known him” and is not keeping his commandments, he is a liar and the truth is not in him;

⁵ὅς δ᾽ ἄν τηρῇ αὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον, ἀληθῶς ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ τετελείωται, ἐν τοῦτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐσμεν.

But whoever keeps his word, truly in this one the love of God has been perfected. In this we know that we are in him.

OK. So that’s the verse-by-verse translation. Here it is in a more readable format.

1 John 1:5 – 2:5

⁵And this is the message which we have heard from him and we proclaim to you, that God is light and there is no darkness in him whatsoever. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him, and we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth; ⁷But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from every sin. ⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, that he might forgive us our sins and he will cleanse us from every unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

¹My dear children, I write these things to you in order that you might not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the father, namely Jesus Christ, the righteous; ²And He is an atoning sacrifice for our sins, not only for ours but also for the whole world. ³And in this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴The one who says “I have known him” and is not keeping his commandments, he is a liar and the truth is not in him; ⁵But whoever keeps his word, truly in this one the love of God has been perfected. In this we know that we are in him.