Scripture Analysis: 1 John 4:8

Welcome back to another Scripture Analysis! Today we're going to learn to read a well-known scripture: 1 John 4:8. I like this verse because it gives us some insight into God's personality. Let's take a look!

Are you ready? 行きましょう！

To begin, let's learn how to say the name of this book of the Bible.

In English, we say "First John," because it's the first of three letters written by the apostle John.

In Japanese, we say "ヨハネの第一の手紙." That's a long one!

ヨハネ: John 

の: (possessive particle)

第 (だい) : Counting word, for things that come in order. 

一　(いち) : One.

の: (possessive particle)

手紙 (てがみ) : Letter.

When translated, "ヨハネの第一の手紙" means "John's first letter."

To listen to this book's name read out loud, follow this link to Google Translate.

Now let's read 1 John 4:8!

First we'll read it in English.

"Whoever does not love has not come to know God, because God is love."
(Source)

Now we'll read the same scripture in Japanese.

"愛さない人は，神をよく知りません。神は愛だからです。"
(Source)

Vocabulary

愛さない (あいさない) : [adjective] (does) not love 

人 (ひと) : [noun] people 

は: [particle] marks the topic of the sentence 

神 (かみ) : [noun] God 

を : [particle] marks the direct object which receives the action of the verb 

よく: [adverb] well, properly 

知りません (しりません) : [verb] to not know, to not understand  

愛 (あい) : [noun] love

だから : [verb + particle] because

です: [verb] is

Grammar

愛さない (do not love) 人 (people) は (marks the topic "people")，神 (God) を (marks "God" as the direct object which receives the action of the following verb) よく (well) 知りません (do not know)。 

神 (God) は (marks "God" as the topic) 愛 (love) だから (because) です (is)。

Now let's put it all together!

愛さない人は，神をよく知りません。神は愛だからです。

So translated directly, we have "(Do) not love people, God well do not know. God love because is."

If we rearrange things according to English grammar, we have "People who do not love do not know God well, because God is love." Doesn't that carry the same meaning as the English translation above?

Just like last week, we have a Quizlet flashcard deck to help us drill in all these new words!

Flashcard Deck: 1 John 4:8

Great job! You're learning so much. This verse certainly shows how important it is show love, doesn't it? What can you do to show a little extra love today? Maybe you can read today's scripture to someone who's never heard it before!

またね！

-Kitty