1 John 2:7

1 John 2:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
• New International Version (NIV)Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.

Context of 1 John 2:7

5But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. 9If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness.

1 John 2:7 word by word

Ἀγαπητοί, οὐκ ἐντολὴν καινὴν γράφω ὑμῖν ἀλλ᾽ ἐντολὴν παλαιὰν ἣν εἴχετε ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς· ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ παλαιά ἐστιν ὁ λόγος ὃν ἠκούσατεRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• I writeγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
• noοὐou · noG3756
• newκαινόςkainos · newG2537
• commandmentἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
• unto youσύsu · youG4771
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• oldπαλαιόςpalaios · oldG3820
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ye hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
• Theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the wordλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• ye have heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191

Cross-references for 1 John 2:7

• 1 John 3:11This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
• Acts 17:19Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.
• 2 John 1:5I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.
• Leviticus 19:18“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
• Deuteronomy 6:5And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
• Matthew 5:43“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.
• Matthew 22:37Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
• Mark 12:29Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.
• Romans 13:8Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.
• Galatians 5:13For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
• James 2:8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Commentaries on 1 John 2:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Brethren, I write no new commandment - There seems a contradiction between this and the next verse. But the apostle appears to speak, not so much of any difference in the essence of the precept itself, as in reference to the degrees of light and grace belonging to the Mosaic and Christian dispensations. It was ever the command of God that men should receive his light, walk by that light, and love him and one another. But this commandment was renewed by…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you - That is, what I am now enjoining is not new. It is the same doctrine which you have always heard. There has been much difference of opinion as to what is referred to by the word “commandment,” whether it is the injunction in the previous verse to live as Christ lived, or whether it is what he refers to in the following verses, the duty of brotherly love. Perhaps neither of these is exactly the idea of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-11Verses 3-11 What knowledge of Christ can that be, which sees not that he is most worthy of our entire obedience? And a disobedient life shows there is neither religion nor honesty in the professor. The love of God is perfected in him that keeps his commandments. God's grace in him attains its true mark, and produces its sovereign effect as far as may be in this world, and this is man's regeneration; though never absolutely perfect here. Yet this observing…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-11The disciples received this commandment (to love one another) from the very beginning. They received it from Jesus himself and from the Old Testament (John 13:34–35; Leviticus 19:18, 33–34).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Brethren--The oldest manuscripts and versions read instead, "Beloved," appropriate to the subject here, love. no new commandment--namely, love, the main principle of walking as Christ walked (1Jo 2:6), and that commandment, of which one exemplification is presently given, 1Jo 2:9, 10, the love of brethren. ye had from the beginning--from the time that ye first heard the Gospel word preached.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 2:7

• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• New Commandment
• Acknowledge
• Advocate
• Lie
• Stumble
• Begin
• Commandment, the New
• John, the Epistles of
• John, the First Epistle General 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