1 John 1:1

1 John 1:1 in other versions

• New International Version (NIV)That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
• English Standard Version (ESV)That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
• New King James Version (NKJV)That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—
• New Living Translation (NLT)We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.

Context of 1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:1 word by word

Ὃ ἦν ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς·Read the interlinear

• That whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
• we have heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• we have seen withὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• eyesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• eyesὀφθαλμόςophthalmos · eyeG3788
• we have looked uponθεάομαιtheaomai · to look atG2300
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• handsχείρcheir · handG5495
• have handledψηλαφάωpsēlaphaō · to touchG5584
• ofπερίperi · aboutG4012
• the Wordλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• of lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222

Cross-references for 1 John 1:1

• 1 John 2:13I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
• Proverbs 8:22The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
• Isaiah 41:4Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
• Micah 5:2But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
• John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
• John 8:58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
• Revelation 1:8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
• Revelation 2:8And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
• 1 John 4:14And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
• Luke 1:2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
• John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
• Acts 1:3To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
• Acts 4:20For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
• 2 Peter 1:16For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
• Luke 24:39Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
• John 20:27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Commentaries on 1 John 1:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1That which was from the beginning - That glorious personage, Jesus Christ the Lord, Who was from eternity; him, being manifested in the flesh, we have heard proclaim the doctrine of eternal life; with our own eyes have we seen him, not transiently, for we have looked upon him frequently; and our hands have handled - frequently touched, his person; and we have had every proof of the identity and reality of this glorious being that our senses of hearing, ̔…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1That which was from the beginning - There can be no doubt that the reference here is to the Lord Jesus Christ, or the “Word” that was made flesh. See the notes at John 1:1. This is such language as John would use respecting him, and indeed the phrase “the beginning,” as applicable to the Lord Jesus, is unique to John in the writings of the New Testament: and the language here may be regarded as one proof that this Epistle was written by him, for it is…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1This epistle is a discourse upon the principles of Christianity, in doctrine and practice. The design appears to be, to refute and guard against erroneous and unholy tenets, principles, and practices, especially such as would lower the Godhead of Christ, and the reality and power of his sufferings and death, as an atoning sacrifice; and against the assertion that believers being saved by grace, are not required to obey the commandments. This epistle also…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1That which was from the beginning: This means Jesus existed before time began and is eternal (John 8:58). When Jesus became a human, the apostles gazed upon and touched him (John 1:14). This statement is important because some early groups, such as Gnostics and Docetists, denied that Christ was truly human (see 1 John 4:2–3). These groups taught heresies (false teachings) about Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is the personal expression of the invisible God…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1Authorship.--Polycarp, the disciple of John [Epistle to the Philippians, 7], quotes 1Jo 4:3. Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 3.39] says of Papias, a hearer of John, and a friend of Polycarp, "He used testimonies from the First Epistle of John." Irenæus, according to Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 5.8], often quoted this Epistle. So in his work Against Heresies [3.15; 5, 8] he quotes from John by name, 1Jo 2:18, &c.; and in [3.16,7], he quotes 1Jo…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 1:1

• Apostles
• Jesus Continued
• Life
• Testimony
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Deceive
• Fellowship
• Light
• Unction
• Walk
• Word, The
• Begin
• Handle
• Jesus Christ
• Johannine Theology

Commentaries on 1 John 1

• 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