1 John 2:19

1 John 2:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
• New International Version (NIV)They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

Context of 1 John 2:19

17One 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. These 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. 20But Christ, the Holy One, has given you the Holy Spirit. As a result, you all know what is true. 21That is why I am writing to you. It is not because you do not yet know God's true message. I am writing to you because you do know that true message. And you can be sure that there are no lies in it.

1 John 2:19 word by word

ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἦσαν, μεμενήκεισαν ἂν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν· ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα φανερωθῶσιν ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν πάντες ἐξ ἡμῶν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They wentἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
• out fromἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• they wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• notοὐou · noG3756
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• they wouldἄνan · ifG302
• have continuedμένωmenō · to stayG3306
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• they might be made manifestφανερόωphaneroō · to revealG5319
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956

Cross-references for 1 John 2:19

• Deuteronomy 13:13They may be turning the other people in their town away from the Lord. They may be saying, ‘We should worship other gods!’ Those are gods that you never knew about before.
• Psalms 41:9Even my special friend has turned against me. He was someone that I trusted. I often ate food with him in my home.
• Matthew 13:20Other seeds fell on soil with rocks in it. This is like some people who hear God's message. These people are happy to believe it for a time.
• Mark 4:5Other seeds fell on ground which had many rocks. There was not much soil in that place. The seeds quickly began to grow, because the soil was not deep.
• Luke 8:13Some seeds fell on ground with rocks in it. This is like people who hear the message from God and they are very happy for a time. But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. They believe in God for a short time. But when they have problems, they stop believing.
• John 15:2Some branches that are part of me may have no fruit on them. My Father completely removes all those branches. But other branches do have fruit. My Father cuts all those branches to make them better. Then they will be good and make more fruit.
• Acts 15:24We have heard that some men from our group have confused your thoughts. These men came to you and they taught you without our authority. The things that they said were not right and they have upset you.
• Acts 20:30Even men from your own group of believers will teach things that are not true. They want to deceive other believers, so that they leave you and join with them.
• 2 Peter 2:20People like that learned about our Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us. As a result, they had stopped doing the bad things that belong to this world. They had become free from the power of those things. But now they have started to do those bad things again. Those things have power over them and they cannot stop doing them. So now, these false teachers are worse than they were at the beginning, before they believed in the Lord Jesus.
• Jude 1:19It is people like this who cause you to argue with one another, so that you belong to separate groups. Their thoughts belong to this world. They do not have God's Spirit in them.
• Job 17:9Righteous people continue to do things that are right. People who do good things become stronger.
• Psalms 37:28The Lord loves justice. He will never leave those who serve him. He will take care of them for ever, but he will remove the children of wicked people.
• Psalms 125:1People who trust in the Lord are strong, like Mount Zion. Nothing can shake it. It will always be there.
• Jeremiah 32:38They will be my people and I will be their God.
• Matthew 24:24Some people will say to you, “I am the Messiah!” Other people will say, “I am a prophet from God.” But their words will be false. They will do strange and powerful things for people to see. If possible, they would even deceive the people that God has chosen.
• Mark 13:22Some people will even say, “I am the Messiah.” Other people will say, “I am a prophet from God.” But their words will be false. They will do strange and powerful things for people to see. If possible, they would even deceive the people that God has chosen.

Commentaries on 1 John 2:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19They went out from us - These heretics had belonged to our Christian assemblies, they professed Christianity, and do so still; but we apostles did not commission them to preach to you, for they have disgraced the Divine doctrine with the most pernicious opinions; they have given up or explained away its most essential principles; they have mingled the rest with heathenish rites and Jewish glosses. While, therefore, we acknowledge that they once belonged…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19They went out from us - From the church. That is, they had once been professors of the religion of the Saviour, though their apostasy showed that they never had any true piety. John refers to the fact that they had once been in the church, perhaps to remind those to whom he wrote that they knew them well, and could readily appreciate their character. It was a humiliating statement that those who showed themselves to be so utterly opposed to religion had…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 Every man is an antichrist, who denies the Person, or any of the offices of Christ; and in denying the Son, he denies the Father also, and has no part in his favour while he rejects his great salvation. Let this prophecy that seducers would rise in the Christian world, keep us from being seduced. The church knows not well who are its true members, and who are not, but thus true Christians were proved, and rendered more watchful and humble…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19They went out from us: This is John’s first clear statement about the false teachers. At one time, these teachers were part of the church community. They shared fellowship with John and with the other apostles. Later, they chose to leave that fellowship. They also formed a separate and exclusive group that followed false teachings about Jesus (see 4:1; 2 John 1:7; 3 John 1:9–10). none of them belonged to us: True Christians would have remained in…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. out from us--from our Christian communion. Not necessarily a formal secession or going out: thus Rome has spiritually gone out, though formally still of the Christian Church. not of us--by spiritual fellowship (1Jo 1:3). "They are like bad humors in the body of Christ, the Church: when they are vomited out, then the body is relieved; the body of Christ is now still under treatment, and has not yet attained the perfect soundness which it shall have…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 2:19

• Hypocrisy
• Perseverance

In the dictionaries

• Acknowledge
• Advocate
• Lie
• Stumble
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of

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