1 Se ye what maner charite the fadir yaf to vs, that we be named the sones of God, and ben hise sones. For this thing the world knewe not vs, for it knew not hym.
2 Moost dere britheren, now we ben the sones of God, and yit it apperide not, what we schulen be. We witen, that whanne he schal appere, we schulen be lijk hym, for we schulen se hym as he is.
3 And ech man that hath this hope in hym, makith hym silf hooli, as he is hooli.
4 Ech man that doith synne, doith also wickidnesse, and synne is wickidnesse.
5 And ye witen, that he apperide to do awei synnes, and synne is not in hym.
6 Ech man that dwellith in hym, synneth not; and ech that synneth, seeth not hym, nether knew hym.
7 Litle sones, no man disseyue you; he that doith riytwysnesse, is iust, as also he is iust.
8 He that doith synne, is of the deuel; for the deuel synneth fro the bigynnyng. In this thing the sone of God apperide, that he vndo the werkis of the deuel.
9 Ech man that is borun of God, doith not synne; for the seed of God dwellith in hym, and he may not do synne, for he is borun of God.
10 In this thing the sones of God ben knowun, and the sones of the feend. Ech man that is not iust, is not of God, and he that loueth not his brothir.
11 For this is the tellyng, that ye herden at the bigynnyng, that ye loue ech othere;
12 not as Caym, that was of the yuele, and slouy his brother. And for what thing slouy he him? for hise werkis weren yuele, and hise brotheris iust.
13 Britheren, nyle ye wondre, if the world hatith you.
14 We witen, that we ben translatid fro deeth to lijf, for we louen britheren. He that loueth not, dwellith in deth.
15 Ech man that hatith his brother, is a man sleere; and ye witen, that ech mansleere hath not euerlastinge lijf dwellinge in hym.
16 In this thing we han knowe the charite of God, for he puttide his lijf for vs, and we owen to putte oure lyues for oure britheren.
17 He that hath the catel of this world, and seeth that his brothir hath nede, and closith his entrailis fro hym, hou dwellith the charite of God in hym?
18 Mi litle sones, loue we not in word, nethir in tunge, but in werk and treuthe.
19 In this thing we knowen, that we ben of treuthe, and in his siyt we monesten oure hertis.
20 For if oure herte repreueth vs, God is more than oure hert, and knowith alle thingis.
21 Moost dere britheren, if oure herte repreueth not vs, we han trust to God;
22 and what euer we schulen axe, we schulen resseyue of hym, for we kepen hise comaundementis, and we don tho thingis that ben plesaunt bifor hym.
23 And this is the comaundement of God, that we bileue in the name of his sone Jhesu Crist, and that we loue ech othere, as he yaf heeste to vs.
24 And he that kepith hise comaundementis, dwellith in hym, and he in hym. And in this thing we witen, that he dwellith in vs, bi the spirit, whom he yaf to vs.