New Living Translation
1 John 5:16
16If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it.
1 John 5:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
- New International Version (NIV)If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
- New King James Version (NKJV)If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.
Context of 1 John 5:16
14And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death. 18We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.
Read all of 1 John 51 John 5:16 word by word
Ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον.¶ Ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Ifἐάνean · ifG1437
- any manτιςtis · oneG5100
- seeὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- brotherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
- sinἁμαρτάνωhamartanō · to sinG264
- a sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
- notμήmē · notG3361
- untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
- he shall askαἰτέωaiteō · to askG154
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- he shall giveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
- lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
- There isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- I doλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- notοὐou · noG3756
- sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- he shall prayἐρωτάωerōtaō · to askG2065
- forπερίperi · aboutG4012
- itἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
Cross-references for 1 John 5:16
- Genesis 20:7Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”
- Exodus 32:10Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
- Exodus 34:9And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.”
- Numbers 12:13So Moses cried out to the Lord, “O God, I beg you, please heal her!”
- Numbers 14:11And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?
- Deuteronomy 9:18“Then, as before, I threw myself down before the Lord for forty days and nights. I ate no bread and drank no water because of the great sin you had committed by doing what the Lord hated, provoking him to anger.
- 2 Chronicles 30:18Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the Law. For Hezekiah said, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon those
- Job 42:7After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.
- Psalms 106:23So he declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people. He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.
- Ezekiel 22:30“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.
- Amos 7:1The Sovereign Lord showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up.
- James 5:14Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.
- Numbers 15:30“But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community.
- Numbers 16:26“Quick!” he told the people. “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins.”
- 1 Samuel 2:25If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.
- Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!
Commentaries on 1 John 5:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16A sin which is not unto death - This is an extremely difficult passage, and has been variously interpreted. What is the sin not unto death, for which we should ask, and life shall be given to him that commits it? And what is the sin unto death, for which we should not pray? I shall note three of the chief opinions on this subject: - It is supposed that there is here an allusion to a distinction in the Jewish law, where there was למיתה חטאה chattaah…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16If a man see his brother sin a sin - From the general assurance that God hears prayer, the apostle turns to a particular case in which it may be benevolently and effectually employed, in rescuing a brother from death. There has been great diversity of opinion in regard to the meaning of this passage, and the views of expositors of the New Testament are by no means settled as to its true sense. It does not comport with the design of these notes to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-17Verses 13-17 Upon all this evidence, it is but right that we believe on the name of the Son of God. Believers have eternal life in the covenant of the gospel. Then let us thankfully receive the record of Scripture. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. The Lord Christ invites us to come to him in all circumstances, with our supplications and requests, notwithstanding the sin that besets us. Our…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Sins that lead to death are sins of apostasy, which means turning away from the true faith and rejecting Christ (see Matthew 12:31–32; Hebrews 6:4–6). In the context of this letter, apostasy means leaving the teaching of the apostles and joining a false, anti-Christian group like the ones John warns about in his letters.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. If any ... see--on any particular occasion; Greek aorist. his brother--a fellow Christian. sin a sin--in the act of sinning, and continuing in the sin: present. not unto death--provided that it is not unto death. he shall give--The asker shall be the means, by his intercessory prayer, of God giving life to the sinning brother. Kindly reproof ought to accompany his intercessions. Life was in process of being forfeited by the sinning brother when the…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 5:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 John 5
- 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
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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