1 John 1:8

1 John 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
• New International Version (NIV)If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
• New King James Version (NKJV)If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Context of 1 John 1:8

6If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8 word by word

ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔχομεν, ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• we sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• we haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• noοὐou · noG3756
• sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• we deceiveπλανάωplanaō · to lead astrayG4105
• ourselvesἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the truthὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473

Cross-references for 1 John 1:8

• 1 John 1:6If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.
• 1 John 3:5And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
• 1 Kings 8:46“The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by.
• 2 Chronicles 6:36“The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry at them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their land, whether far away or close by.
• Job 9:2“Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God?
• Job 14:4Who can make a clean thing come from an unclean? No one!
• Job 15:14What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
• Job 25:4How then can a human being be righteous before God? How can one born of a woman be pure?
• Psalms 143:2Do not sit in judgment on your servant, for no one alive is innocent before you.
• Proverbs 20:9Who can say, “I have kept my heart clean; I am pure from my sin”?
• Ecclesiastes 7:20For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.
• Isaiah 53:6All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
• Isaiah 64:6We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.
• Jeremiah 2:22You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent. You can use as much soap as you want. But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,” says the Lord God.
• Romans 3:23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
• James 3:2For we all stumble in many ways. If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well.

Commentaries on 1 John 1:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8If we say that we have no sin - This is tantamount to 1 John 1:10; : If we say that we have not sinned. All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; and therefore every man needs a Savior, such as Christ is. It is very likely that the heretics, against whose evil doctrines the apostle writes, denied that they had any sin, or needed any Savior. In deed, the Gnostics even denied that Christ suffered: the Aeon, or Divine Being that dwelt in the man…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8If we say that we have no sin - It is not improbable that the apostle here makes allusion to some error which was then beginning to prevail in the church. Some have supposed that the allusion is to the sect of the Nicolaitanes, and to the views which they maintained, particularly that nothing was forbidden to the children of God under the gospel, and that in the freedom conferred on Christians they were at liberty to do what they pleased, Revelation 2:6…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-10Verses 5-10 A message from the Lord Jesus, the Word of life, the eternal Word, we should all gladly receive. The great God should be represented to this dark world, as pure and perfect light. As this is the nature of God, his doctrines and precepts must be such. And as his perfect happiness cannot be separated from his perfect holiness, so our happiness will be in proportion to our being made holy. To walk in darkness, is to live and act against religion…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8If we say we have no sin: This is the second false claim of the Gnostics (see 1:6). They trusted they could be free from sin because Christ had removed their sins forever. They believed that their special knowledge put them in a position where sin no longer mattered. But Christians do still sin when they live in their old nature (see Romans 7:14–25). A true Christian both acknowledges this sin and trusts Christ to take it away (1 John 1:9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. The confession of sins is a necessary consequence of "walking in the light" (1Jo 1:7). "If thou shalt confess thyself a sinner, the truth is in thee; for the truth is itself light. Not yet has thy life become perfectly light, as sins are still in thee, but yet thou hast already begun to be illuminated, because there is in thee confession of sins" [Augustine]. that we have no sin--"Have," not "have had," must refer not to the past sinful life while…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 1:8

• Blindness
• Depravity of Man
• Sin
• Sinlessness

In the dictionaries

• Deceive
• Fellowship
• Forgiveness of sin
• Light
• Sanctification
• Unction
• Walk
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of
• Proverbs, Book of

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