American Standard Version
1 John 5:9
9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son.
1 John 5:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
- New International Version (NIV)We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
- New King James Version (NKJV)If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
Context of 1 John 5:9
7And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 8For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son. 10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne concerning his Son. 11And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Read all of 1 John 51 John 5:9 word by word
εἰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν, ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν, ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι μεμαρτύρηκεν περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 1 John 5:9
- 1 John 5:10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne concerning his Son.
- John 3:32What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness.
- John 5:31If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
- John 8:17Yea and in your law it is written, that the witness of two men is true.
- John 10:38But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.
- Acts 5:32And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
- Acts 17:31inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
- Hebrews 2:4God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.
- Hebrews 6:18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us:
- Matthew 3:16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him;
- Matthew 17:5While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Commentaries on 1 John 5:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9If we receive the witness of men - Which all are obliged to do, and which is deemed a sufficient testimony to truth in numberless cases; the witness of God is greater - he can neither be deceived nor deceive, but man may deceive and be deceived.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9If we receive the witness of men - As we are accustomed to do, and as we must do in courts of justice, and in the ordinary daily transactions of life. We are constantly acting on the belief that what others say is true; that what the members of our families, and our neighbors say, is true; that what is reported by travelers is true; that what we read in books, and what is sworn to in courts of justice, is true. We could not get along a single day if we…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-12Verses 9-12 Nothing can be more absurd than the conduct of those who doubt as to the truth of Christianity, while in the common affairs of life they do not hesitate to proceed on human testimony, and would deem any one out of his senses who declined to do so. The real Christian has seen his guilt and misery, and his need of such a Saviour. He has seen the suitableness of such a Saviour to all his spiritual wants and circumstances. He has found and felt…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. If, &c.--We do accept (and rightly so) the witness of veracious men, fallible though they be; much more ought we to accept the infallible witness of God (the Father). "The testimony of the Father is, as it were, the basis of the testimony of the Word and of the Holy Spirit; just as the testimony of the Spirit is, as it were, the basis of the testimony of the water and the blood" [Bengel]. for--This principle applies in the present case, FOR, &c…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 5:9
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries