1 John 5:16

1 John 5:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
• New International Version (NIV)If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
• New King James Version (NKJV)If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

Context of 1 John 5:16

14This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. 15And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he will pray and ask [on the believer’s behalf] and God will for him give life to those whose sin is not leading to death. There is a sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for this [kind of sin]. 17All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death [one can repent of it and be forgiven]. 18We know [with confidence] that anyone born of God does not habitually sin; but He (Jesus) who was born of God [carefully] keeps and protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

1 John 5:16 word by word

Ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον.¶ Ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• any manτιςtis · oneG5100
• seeὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• brotherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• sinἁμαρτάνωhamartanō · to sinG264
• a sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• notμήmē · notG3361
• untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
• he shall askαἰτέωaiteō · to askG154
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• he shall giveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• There isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• I doλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• notοὐou · noG3756
• sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• he shall prayἐρωτάωerōtaō · to askG2065
• forπερίperi · aboutG4012
• itἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565

Cross-references for 1 John 5:16

• Genesis 20:7So now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her [to him], know that you shall die, you and all who are yours (your household).”
• Exodus 32:10Now therefore, let Me alone and do not interfere, so that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you (your descendants) a great nation.”
• Exodus 34:9And he said, “If now I have found favor and lovingkindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, please, go in our midst, though it is a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your possession.”
• Numbers 12:13So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Heal her please, O God, I plead with You!”
• Numbers 14:11The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me disrespectfully and reject Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the [miraculous] signs which I have performed among them?
• Deuteronomy 9:18Then, as before, I fell down before the Lord for [another] forty days and forty nights; I did not eat food or drink water, because of all the sin you had committed by doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger.
• 2 Chronicles 30:18For the majority of the people, many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, and yet they ate the Passover contrary to what had been prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon
• Job 42:7It came about that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.
• Psalms 106:23Therefore He said He would destroy them, [And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the gap before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them.
• Ezekiel 22:30I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for [the sake of] the land, that I would not destroy it, but I found no one [not even one].
• Amos 7:1Thus the Lord God showed me [a vision], and behold, He was forming a swarm of locusts when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing.
• James 5:14Is anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
• Numbers 15:30But the person who does [anything wrong] willfully and defiantly, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one is blaspheming the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].
• Numbers 16:26And he said to the congregation, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away in all their sin.”
• 1 Samuel 2:25If one man does wrong and sins against another, God will intercede (arbitrate) for him; but if a man does wrong to the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
• Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me [interceding for them], My heart would still not be [turned with favor] toward this people [Judah]. Send them away from My presence and out of My sight and let them go!

Commentaries on 1 John 5:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16A sin which is not unto death - This is an extremely difficult passage, and has been variously interpreted. What is the sin not unto death, for which we should ask, and life shall be given to him that commits it? And what is the sin unto death, for which we should not pray? I shall note three of the chief opinions on this subject: - It is supposed that there is here an allusion to a distinction in the Jewish law, where there was למיתה חטאה chattaah…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16If a man see his brother sin a sin … - From the general assurance that God hears prayer, the apostle turns to a particular case in which it may be benevolently and effectually employed, in rescuing a brother from death. There has been great diversity of opinion in regard to the meaning of this passage, and the views of expositors of the New Testament are by no means settled as to its true sense. It does not comport with the design of these notes to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-17Verses 13-17 Upon all this evidence, it is but right that we believe on the name of the Son of God. Believers have eternal life in the covenant of the gospel. Then let us thankfully receive the record of Scripture. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. The Lord Christ invites us to come to him in all circumstances, with our supplications and requests, notwithstanding the sin that besets us. Our…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Sins that lead to death are sins of apostasy, which means turning away from the true faith and rejecting Christ (see Matthew 12:31–32; Hebrews 6:4–6). In the context of this letter, apostasy means leaving the teaching of the apostles and joining a false, anti-Christian group like the ones John warns about in his letters.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. If any ... see--on any particular occasion; Greek aorist. his brother--a fellow Christian. sin a sin--in the act of sinning, and continuing in the sin: present. not unto death--provided that it is not unto death. he shall give--The asker shall be the means, by his intercessory prayer, of God giving life to the sinning brother. Kindly reproof ought to accompany his intercessions. Life was in process of being forfeited by the sinning brother when the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 5:16

• Holy Spirit
• Intercession
• Reprobacy
• Sin
• Unpardonable Sin

In the dictionaries

• Idol
• Sin
• Blasphemy
• Forgiveness
• Hope
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of
• righteous, righteousness, unrighteous, unrighteousness, upright, uprightness

Commentaries on 1 John 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings