1 John 2:22

Τίς ἐστιν ὁ ψεύστης, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀρνούμενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστός; Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱόν.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 5101; Tis; Τίς; who; IPro-NMS

Strongs 1510; estin; ἐστιν; is; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 5583; pseustēs; ψεύστης; a liar; N-NMS

Strongs 1487; ei; εἰ; if; Conj

Strongs 3361; mē; μὴ; not; Adv

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 720; arnoumenos; ἀρνούμενος; he who is denying; V-PPM/P-NMS

Strongs 3754; hoti; ὅτι; that; Conj

Strongs 2424; Iēsous; Ἰησοῦς; Salvation; N-NMS

Strongs 3756; ouk; οὐκ; not; Adv

Strongs 1510; estin; ἔστιν; is; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 5547; Christos; Χριστός; Christ; N-NMS

Strongs 3778; houtos; οὗτός; This; DPro-NMS

Strongs 1510; estin; ἐστιν; is; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 500; antichristos; ἀντίχριστος; antichrist; N-NMS

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 720; arnoumenos; ἀρνούμενος; he who is denying; V-PPM/P-NMS

Strongs 3588; ton; τὸν; the; Art-AMS

Strongs 3962; Patera; Πατέρα; Father; N-AMS

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 3588; ton; τὸν; the; Art-AMS

Strongs 5207; Huion; Υἱόν; Son; N-AMS

RBT Translation:

Who is the Liar/False One, if not the one who is denying that he is not Salvation the Anointed One? This one is the antichrist, the one who is denying the Father and the Son!⁵

LITV Translation:
Who is the liar, except the one denying, saying that Jesus is not the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one denying the Father and the Son.

ESV Translation:
Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

Footnotes

5

Who is the Liar?

The Greek phrase ὁ ἀρνούμενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστός can be understood in two ways, both of which depend on the interpretation of the negation οὐκ ("not").

1. "The one denying that Jesus is not the Christ": In this interpretation, οὐκ ἔστιν functions as a negation of Ἰησοῦς being the Χριστός ("Christ"). This creates a problem however because the phrase thus conveys that the person denies the claim that Jesus is not the Christ, and that doesn't make much sense, and thus, translations remove the word "not" altogether from the phrase:

   • "whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ" (NIV)
   • "he who denies that Jesus is the Christ" (ESV)
   • "the one denying that Jesus is the Christ" (Berean "Literal" Bible)
   • "but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ" (KJV)
   • "he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ" ("Literal" Standard Version)
   • "he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ" (YLT)
   • "he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ" (ASV)

2. "The one denying that he is not Jesus": This interpretation retains οὐκ ἔστιν negating the identity of the person as not being Jesus. This would imply that someone is denying their own identity, rejecting the claim that they are not Jesus. This interpretation, although honest and true to the text, was unpalatable to the interpreters. So they decided, and trusted in their own "authority" to present their translation to the world as though the word οὐκ didn't exist:

Where did that word go?

Not a single translation we have seen includes the word. The Pulpit Commentary adds in the words "(and says)" to avoid any explanation. Other scholars have said that it is simply "emphasizing" the verb "to deny":

On the construction of the negative idea ἀρνεῖσθαι with the following οὐκ, by which the negation is more strongly emphasized, see Kühner, II. p. 410.

(Meyer's NT Commentary)

By their reasoning, it is there to add emphasis, and therefore they deleted it.

To be clear, and true to standard Classical Greek, οὐκ is used to negate a verb, not emphasize it. οὐκ ἀρνέομαι – "I do not deny" (basic negation).