1 John 1:2
What does 1 John 1:2 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 John 1:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 John 1:2 means
John briefly pauses to explain that the Life he proclaims did not stay hidden. It “was manifested,” meaning the eternal Son who was with the Father appeared in history. The apostles saw Him, so they now bear witness and announce Him to others. John calls Jesus “the eternal life” because He is both the giver and the content of the life that never ends; to know Him is to have that life. This parenthesis underscores that the gospel is not speculation but revelation—God has made Himself known in the person of His Son, and that revelation compels proclamation.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000(and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us);
KJV
King James Version · 1611(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901(and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us);
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949(And the life was made clear to us, and we have seen it and are witnessing to it and giving you word of that eternal life which was with the Father and was seen by us);
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and the Life was manifested, and we have seen, and do testify, and declare to you the Life, the age-during, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us--
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For the life was manifested: and we have seen and do bear witness and declare unto you the life eternal, which was with the Father and hath appeared to us.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890(and the life has been manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father, and has been manifested to us:)
Context
Flowing from verse 1’s sensory language, this explanatory note strengthens the claim: the Life with the Father entered our world. John is not introducing new philosophy but reporting a divine unveiling. With that clarified, verse 3 resumes the main sentence, moving from what the apostles witnessed to why they declare it—so that others may share in their fellowship. The sequence—manifestation, witness, proclamation—prepares readers to receive the ethical and relational implications unfolded in the next verses.
v.1That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life
v.2This passage
v.3that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ:
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 1 John 3:5
And ye know that he was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin.
- Acts 1:22
beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection.
- John 8:38
I speak the things which I have seen with my Father: and ye also do the things which ye heard from your father.
- Proverbs 8:22
Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old.
- John 16:28
I came out from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father.
- Romans 8:3
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
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