1 John 1:9

KJV1611 – Modern English

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Ἐὰν ὁμολογῶμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος ἵνα ἀφῇ ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας.

Transliteration

If we homologōmen the hamartias of us, pistos estin and dikaios hina he might aphē to us the hamartias, and might katharisē us from all adikias.

Grammar Details

• *homologōmen*: present subjunctive, 1st plural, active - we might confess/acknowledge [potential ongoing action]
• *hamartias*: accusative, feminine, plural - sins [direct object]
• *pistos*: nominative, masculine, singular - faithful/trustworthy
• *estin*: present, 3rd singular - is [ongoing state]
• *dikaios*: nominative, masculine, singular - righteous/just
• *hina*: conjunction introducing purpose clause - so that/in order that
• *aphē*: aorist subjunctive, 3rd singular, active - might forgive/release [potential action]
• *katharisē*: aorist subjunctive, 3rd singular, active - might cleanse/purify [potential action]
• *adikias*: genitive, feminine, singular - unrighteousness/wrongdoing

Word Meanings

• *homologōmen*: confess/acknowledge/agree/admit
• *hamartias*: sins/wrongdoings/errors/failures
• *pistos*: faithful/trustworthy/reliable/believable
• *estin*: is/exists/remains
• *dikaios*: righteous/just/fair/right
• *hina*: so that/in order that/with the purpose that
• *aphē*: forgive/release/let go/remit
• *katharisē*: cleanse/purify/make clean
• *adikias*: unrighteousness/injustice/wrongdoing/wickedness

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  If{G1437} we confess{G3670} our{G2257} sins,{G266} he is{G2076} faithful{G4103} and{G2532} righteous{G1342} to{G2443} forgive{G863} us{G2254} our sins,{G266} and{G2532} to cleanse{G2511} us{G2248} from{G575} all{G3956} unrighteousness.{G93}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  If{G1437} we confess{G3670}{(G5725)} our{G2257} sins{G266}, he is{G2076}{(G5748)} faithful{G4103} and{G2532} just{G1342} to{G2443} forgive{G863}{(G5632)} us{G2254} our sins{G266}, and{G2532} to cleanse{G2511}{(G5661)} us{G2248} from{G575} all{G3956} unrighteousness{G93}.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  Yf we knowledge oure synnes he is faythfull and iust to forgeve vs oure synnes and to clense vs from all vnrightewesnes.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  But yf we knowlege oure synnes, he is faithfull and iust to forgeue vs oure synnes, & to clense vs from all vnrighteousnes.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  If we acknowledge our sinnes, he is faithfull and iust, to forgiue vs our sinnes, & to clense vs from all vnrighteousnes.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  If we knowledge our sinnes, he is faythfull & iust to forgeue vs our sinnes, and to clense vs from all vnryghteousnesse.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  if we may confess our sins, stedfast He is and righteous that He may forgive us the sins, and may cleanse us from every unrighteousness;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  If we say openly that we have done wrong, he is upright and true to his word, giving us forgiveness of sins and making us clean from all evil.

• World English Bible (2000)

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

Referenced Verses

• Ps 32:5 : 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
• Prov 28:13 : 13 He who covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
• Ps 51:2-5 : 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done this evil in your sight, that you may be justified when you speak and be clear when you judge. 5 Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
• 1 John 1:7 : 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
• Jer 33:8 : 8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned and transgressed against me.
• Job 33:27-28 : 27 He looks upon men, and if any say, I have sinned and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me; 28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
• Heb 10:23 : 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful;
• Titus 2:14 : 14 Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for Himself a special people, zealous for good works.
• Ezek 37:23 : 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
• Lam 3:23 : 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
• Ezek 36:25 : 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
• Isa 45:21 : 21 Declare and bring them near; indeed, let them take counsel together: who has declared this from ancient times? who has told it from that time? have not I, the LORD? and there is no other God besides Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me.
• Deut 7:9 : 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God, he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
• 1 Tim 1:15 : 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
• Rom 3:26 : 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
• 1 Cor 1:9 : 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
• Acts 19:18 : 18 And many who believed came confessing and disclosing their deeds.
• 1 Kgs 8:47 : 47 Yet if they shall come to themselves in the land where they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication to you in the land of those who carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
• 2 Chr 6:37-38 : 37 Yet if they come to themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn and pray to you in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have dealt wickedly; 38 If they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, and toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name:
• Neh 1:6 : 6 Let Your ear now be attentive, and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against You: both I and my father's house have sinned.
• Neh 9:2-9 : 2 The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. 3 They stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the platform of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 The Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, 'Stand up and bless the LORD your God forever and ever; and blessed be Your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise.' 6 You alone are the LORD; You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens, with all their hosts, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all; the host of heaven worships You. 7 You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham; 8 You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it to his descendants. And You have fulfilled Your words, for You are righteous; 9 And You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea; 10 You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land. For You knew they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day. 11 You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and You threw their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover, You led them by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way they should go. 13 You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them just statutes and true laws, good statutes and commandments. 14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promised them that they would go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them. 16 But they and our forefathers acted proudly, hardened their necks, and did not heed Your commandments. 17 They refused to obey, and were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them. 18 Even when they made a molten calf for themselves, and said, 'This is your God that brought you up out of Egypt,' and committed great provocations, 19 Yet in Your overwhelming mercies, You did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud did not depart from them by day to lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night to show them light and the way they should go. 20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. 21 For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. 22 Moreover, You gave them kingdoms and nations, and divided them into districts: So they possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land which You had promised to their forefathers they would enter and possess. 24 So the children entered and possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them as they wished. 25 And they captured fortified cities and a fertile land, and took possession of houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness. 26 Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your law behind their backs, and killed Your prophets who testified against them, to turn them back to You, and they performed great provocations. 27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who oppressed them. And in the time of their trouble, when they cried to You, You heard from heaven; and according to Your manifold mercies, You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before You; therefore You abandoned them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven, and many times delivered them according to Your mercies. 29 You testified against them, that You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly and did not heed Your commandments but sinned against Your judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. And they shrugged their shoulders, stiffened their necks, and would not hear. 30 Yet for many years You had patience with them and testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not give ear; therefore, You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, in Your great mercies, You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are a gracious and merciful God. 32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy, do not let all the hardship seem little before You that has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our forefathers, and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 However, You are just in all that has come upon us; for You have done right, but we have acted wickedly. 34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our forefathers kept Your law, nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, which You testified against them. 35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, or in the vast and fertile land that You gave them, nor did they turn from their wicked works. 36 Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our forefathers to eat its fruit and its bounty, here we are, servants in it. 37 And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us because of our sins; also, they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
• Lev 26:40-42 : 40 If they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary to me; 41 And that I also have walked contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity: 42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
• Dan 9:4-9 : 4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 5 We have sinned and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and from Your judgments: 6 Neither have we listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us belongs confusion of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those near and those far off, through all the countries where You have driven them, because of their trespass which they have trespassed against You. 8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, even by departing, that they might not obey Your voice; therefore, the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. 12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great calamity: for under the whole heaven, such as has been done upon Jerusalem has not been done. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us: yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has watched over the calamity, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He does: for we have not obeyed His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I plead with You, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain: because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline Your ear, and hear; open Your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name: for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, but for Your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act; do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God: for Your city and Your people are called by Your name. 20 And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
• Zech 9:9 : 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes to you: he is just, and endowed with salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey.
• Mark 1:5 : 5 And all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him, and were all baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
• Heb 6:10 : 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
• 1 Cor 6:11 : 11 And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
• Eph 5:26 : 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
• Heb 11:11 : 11 Through faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.