God’s Word Translation
1 John 2:20
20The Holy One has anointed you, so all of you have knowledge.
1 John 2:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
- New International Version (NIV)But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
Context of 1 John 2:20
18Children, it’s the end of time. You’ve heard that an antichrist is coming. Certainly, many antichrists are already here. That’s how we know it’s the end of time. 19They left us. However, they were never really part of us. If they had been, they would have stayed with us. But by leaving they made it clear that none of them were part of us. The Holy One has anointed you, so all of you have knowledge. 21I’m writing to you because you know the truth, not because you don’t know the truth. You know that no lie ever comes from the truth. 22Who is a liar? Who else but the person who rejects Jesus as the Messiah? The person who rejects the Father and the Son is an antichrist.
Read all of 1 John 21 John 2:20 word by word
καὶ ὑμεῖς χρῖσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ οἴδατε πάντες.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 John 2:20
- 1 John 2:27The anointing you received from Christ lives in you. You don’t need anyone to teach you something else. Instead, Christ’s anointing teaches you about everything. His anointing is true and contains no lie. So live in Christ as he taught you to do.
- 1 John 4:13We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.
- Psalms 23:5You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.
- Psalms 45:7You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong. That is why God, your God, has anointed you, rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.
- Psalms 92:10But you make me as strong as a wild bull, and soothing lotion is poured on me.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me because the Lord has anointed me to deliver good news to humble people. He has sent me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to announce that captives will be set free and prisoners will be released.
- Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is with me. He has anointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin and the restoring of sight to the blind, to forgive those who have been shattered by sin,
- Acts 10:38You know that God anointed Jesus from Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went everywhere and did good things, such as healing everyone who was under the devil’s power. Jesus did these things because God was with him.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21God establishes us, together with you, in a relationship with Christ. He has also anointed us.
- Hebrews 1:9You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong. That is why God, your God, anointed you, rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.”
- Psalms 16:10because you do not abandon my soul to the grave or allow your holy one to decay.
- Psalms 71:22Because of your faithfulness, O my God, even I will give thanks to you as I play on a lyre. I will make music with a harp to praise you, O Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 43:3I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you. Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you.
- Mark 1:24“What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
- Luke 4:34“Oh, no! What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
- Acts 3:14You rejected the man who was holy and innocent. You asked to have a murderer given to you,
Commentaries on 1 John 2:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20But ye have an unction - The word signifies not an unction, but an ointment, the very thing itself by which anointing is effected; and so it was properly rendered in our former translations. Probably this is an allusion to the holy anointing oil of the law, and to Psalm 14:7; : God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness - he hath given thee the plenitude of the Spirit, which none of thy fellows - none of the prophets, ever received in such abundance…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20But ye have an unction from the Holy One - The apostle in this verse evidently intends to say that he had no apprehension in regard to those to whom he wrote that they would thus apostatize, and bring dishonor on their religion. They had been so anointed by the Holy Spirit that they understood the true nature of religion, and it might be confidently expected that they would persevere. The word “unction” or “anointing” ( ́ chrisma) means, properly…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. 20-23You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One: The Holy Spirit gives Christians the ability to recognize spiritual truth (see Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22). Those who have the Spirit know the truth about the Father and the Son. They can also identify teachings that do not match the apostles' teachings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. But--Greek, "And." He here states the means which they as believers have wherewith to withstand. Antichrists (1Jo 2:18), namely, the chrism (so the Greek: a play upon similar sounds), or "anointing unguent," namely, the Holy Spirit (more plainly mentioned further on, as in John's style, 1Jo 3:24; 4:13; 5:6), which they ("ye" is emphatical in contrast to those apostates, 1Jo 2:19) have "from the Holy One, Christ" (Joh 1:33; 3:34; 15:26; 16:14): "the…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 2:20
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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