1 John 2:17

1 John 2:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
• New International Version (NIV)The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Context of 1 John 2:17

15Do not live like people who do not know God. Do not love the wrong things that belong to this world. If anyone loves those things, it shows that they do not love God, their Father. 16What are the wrong things that belong to this world? People want to do bad things to make themselves happy. People want to have things that they see, even bad things. People want to show other people how rich they are. These ideas do not come from God, our Father. They are the thoughts of people who belong to the world. One day, those people and the things that they want will not be there any longer. But those who continue to do what God wants will live for ever. 18My children, the world will soon end. You have heard that the enemy of Christ will appear. You can see that many enemies of Christ have already appeared. This shows us that the world will end soon. 19These people used to be in our group of believers. But they left us. They never really belonged to our group. If they had been true believers, they would have remained with us. When they left us, it showed clearly that none of them really belonged to us.

1 John 2:17 word by word

καὶ ὁ κόσμος παράγεται καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the worldὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• passeth awayπαράγωparagō · to passG3855
• the lustἐπιθυμίαepithumia · desireG1939
• thereofαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• butδέde · thenG1161
• he that doethποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• the willθέλημαthelēma · will/desireG2307
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• abidethμένωmenō · to stayG3306
• forεἰςeis · towardG1519
• everαἰώνaiōn · an age: eternityG165

Cross-references for 1 John 2:17

• Psalms 39:6As we live, we are just like shadows. We work to get things for ourselves. We may get a lot of money, but we do not know who will have it after we die.’
• Psalms 73:18Yes, I realized that they are in a dangerous place, where they will easily slip. You will cause them to fall down to their death.
• Psalms 90:9Your anger gives us trouble all through our lives. Then our lives end in a short groan.
• Psalms 102:26They will all disappear one day, but you will remain. They will become spoiled, like old clothes. Like clothes, you will remove them, so that they disappear.
• Isaiah 40:6A voice is saying, ‘Shout!’ But I say, ‘What should I shout?’ ‘Shout that all people are like grass. Their promises are like the flowers in a field.
• Matthew 24:35One day, the earth and the sky will have an end. But my words will be there for ever.’
• 1 Corinthians 7:31If you enjoy the things of this world, do not live as if those things are important. This world, as it is now, will soon finish.
• James 1:10And the believers who are rich should also be happy. Why? Because God has shown them that they are not so great. Rich people should remember that they will die, like a wild flower quickly dies.
• James 4:14You do not know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a cloud which appears for a short time and then it quickly goes away.
• 1 Peter 1:24The Bible says: ‘All people are like grass. They may seem beautiful for a short time, like flowers that grow in the fields. But grass soon becomes dry and it dies. Flowers soon fall to the ground.
• Psalms 143:10Teach me to do what pleases you, because you are my God. Let your kind Spirit lead me, so that I can walk in a safe place.
• Matthew 7:21Some people say to me, “Master, Master!” But not all of them will come into the kingdom of heaven. Only the people who obey God, my Father in heaven, will come in. They do what he wants them to do.
• Matthew 21:31Tell me, which of the man's sons did what his father wanted?’ The Jewish leaders replied, ‘The older son did what his father wanted.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you this: The men who take taxes from people are going into the kingdom of God before you. It is the same with prostitutes. They also are going into the kingdom of God before you.
• Mark 3:35My brothers and sisters and my mother are the people who do what God wants.’
• John 7:17Anyone who chooses to do what God wants will know about my teaching. They will know whether it comes from God, or whether it comes from my own thoughts.
• Romans 12:2Do not become like the people who belong to this world. But let God completely change the way that you think, so that you live differently. Then you will understand what God wants you to do. You will know what is good. You will know what pleases God. You will know what is completely right.

Commentaries on 1 John 2:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17The 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 honor…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17And 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 The things of the world may be desired and possessed for the uses and purposes which God intended, and they are to be used by his grace, and to his glory; but believers must not seek or value them for those purposes to which sin abuses them. The world draws the heart from God; and the more the love of the world prevails, the more the love of God decays. The things of the world are classed according to the three ruling inclinations of depraved…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17The world is a morally evil system that is under the influence of Satan and is opposed to God and to Christ’s kingdom on this earth (2:16; 3:1; 4:4; 5:19; John 12:31; 15:18; Ephesians 6:11–12; James 4:4). The world appeals to people’s fleshly desires and turns them away from God. People who belong to the world in this way need God to rescue them from it.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. the world--with all who are of the world worldly. passeth away--Greek, "is passing away" even now. the lust thereof--in its threefold manifestation (1Jo 2:16). he that doeth the will of God--not his own fleshly will, or the will of the world, but that of God (1Jo 2:3, 6), especially in respect to love. abideth for ever--"even as God also abideth for ever" (with whom the godly is one; compare Psa 55:19, "God, even He that abideth of old): a true…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 2:17

• Covetousness
• Immortality
• Lust
• Obedience
• Righteous
• Worldliness
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• will of God
• Acknowledge
• Advocate
• Lie
• Stumble
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Holy Spirit
• Johannine Theology

Commentaries on 1 John 2

• 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
• 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