My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.
Parallel translations
- KJV My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
- BSB Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
- NKJV My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
- NASB Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
- NLT Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jas 2:15–16And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food,
- Rom 12:9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
- 1 Pet 1:22Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:
- 1 Cor 13:4–7Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
- Gal 5:13For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.
- Gal 6:1–2Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourself so that you also aren’t tempted.
- Eph 4:1–3I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
- Matt 25:41–45Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
- Eph 4:15but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ;
- 1 Th 1:3remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.
- 1 Jn 2:1My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
- 2 Jn 1:1–15The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all those who know the truth;
- Ezek 33:31They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
- Exod 33:21Yahweh also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'
How 1 John 3:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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