1 John 5:9
What does 1 John 5:9 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 John 5:9 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 John 5:9 means
If we accept human testimony in ordinary affairs, how much more should we receive God’s? John argues from lesser to greater. God has borne witness concerning His Son, not only through events like the water and the blood, but also through the Spirit’s ongoing testimony. To doubt or dismiss this is to treat God’s word as inferior to man’s. The issue is not abstract debate but responding to God’s declared truth about Jesus. Since God’s witness is greater, it carries ultimate authority for faith and life. Assurance rests here—not on inner whim or popular opinion, but on God’s own attestation.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son.
KJV
King James Version · 1611If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949If we take the witness of men to be true, the witness of God is greater: because this is the witness which God has given about his Son.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862If the testimony of men we receive, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that He hath testified concerning His Son.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God, which is greater, because he hath testified of his Son.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890If we receive the witness of men, the witness ofGod is greater. For this is the witness ofGod [which] he has witnessed concerning his Son.
Context
Verse 9 shifts from listing witnesses (verses 6–8) to weighing them. God’s testimony is greater than any human testimony, and it concerns His Son. This prepares for verse 10, which contrasts the believer’s internal witness with the unbeliever’s rejection that makes God a liar, and verses 11–12, which succinctly state the content of God’s witness: He has given eternal life in His Son, possessed by those who have the Son and not by those who do not. The argument now presses toward assurance and decision.
v.8For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.
v.9This passage
v.10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne concerning his Son.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- John 8:17
Yea and in your law it is written, that the witness of two men is true.
- Acts 5:32
And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
- John 10:38
But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.
- Matthew 3:16
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him;
- Matthew 17:5
While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
- John 5:31
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
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