1John 4:16

Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐγνώκαμεν καὶ πεπιστεύκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην ἣν ἔχει ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν. Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστί, καὶ ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἐν τῷ Θεῷ μένει, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 1473; hēmeis; ἡμεῖς; we; PPro-N1P

Strongs 1097; egnōkamen; ἐγνώκαμεν; have come to recognize; V-RIA-1P

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 4100; pepisteukamen; πεπιστεύκαμεν; have come to trust; V-RIA-1P

Strongs 3588; tēn; τὴν; the; Art-AFS

Strongs 26; agapēn; ἀγάπην; agape-love; N-AFS

Strongs 3739; hēn; ἣν; who/whosoever; RelPro-AFS

Strongs 2192; echei; ἔχει; is holding; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 2316; Theos; Θεὸς; God; N-NMS

Strongs 1722; en; ἐν; within; Prep

Strongs 1473; hēmin; ἡμῖν; ourselves; PPro-D1P

Strongs 3588; HO; Ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 2316; Theos; Θεὸς; God; N-NMS

Strongs 26; agapē; ἀγάπη; agape-love; N-NFS

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

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 3306; menōn; μένων; he who is abiding; V-PPA-NMS

Strongs 1722; en; ἐν; within; Prep

Strongs 3588; tē; τῇ; the; Art-DFS

Strongs 26; agapē; ἀγάπῃ; agape-love; N-DFS

Strongs 1722; en; ἐν; within; Prep

Strongs 3588; tō; τῷ; the; Art-DMS

Strongs 2316; Theō; Θεῷ; God; N-DMS

Strongs 3306; menei; μένει; abides; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 2316; Theos; Θεὸς; God; N-NMS

Strongs 1722; en; ἐν; within; Prep

Strongs 846; autō; αὐτῷ; self/itself/himself; PPro-DM/N3S

Strongs 3306; menei; μένει; abides; V-PIA-3S

RBT Hebrew Literal:

אליעם - God is the People: Hear Israel, God is One

And we, ourselves have recognized and have trusted the Agape-Love, whom the God is holding within ourselves, the God. She is agape-love, and the one who is remaining within the Agape-Love, within the God he is remaining, and the God within himself is remaining.^5b

Agape Love

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And we have known and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love; and he remaining in love remains in God, and God in him.

LITV Translation:
None

ESV Translation:
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Footnotes

5b

The phrase ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, though syntactically valid as a subject–predicate nominative construction, introduces a notable gender discord: θεός is grammatically masculine, while ἀγάπη is feminine.

In classical Attic prose, such gender mismatch between a subject and a predicate noun, especially in an identity statement (i.e., X is Y), would be stylistically dissonant and typically avoided. Greek idiom generally favors gender agreement in such constructions, particularly when asserting essence or nature. Writers would often recast the predicate into a participial or adjectival form (e.g., ὁ θεὸς ἐστὶν ὁ ἀγαπῶν, "God is the one who loves") or use neuter abstracts (e.g., ὁ θεὸς ἐστὶν τοῦτο· ἀγάπη, “God is this: love”) to circumvent the conflict.

A more grammatically and contextually consistent rendering of 1 John 4:16—particularly in view of the extended personification of ἀγάπη in 1 Cor. 13:4–8, where ἀγάπη is unambiguously treated as a feminine subject (e.g., μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται)—would be:
“And we ourselves have come to recognize and to trust the Agápē-Love, whom the God is holding within ourselves—the God. She is Agápē-Love; and the one remaining within the Agápē-Love, within the God he is remaining, and the God within himself is remaining.”
This translation preserves the gender of ἀγάπη (ἡ ἀγάπη) as feminine and allows for its personification—common in Hellenistic literary conventions—without eliding the article or collapsing the noun into a genderless abstraction. The phrase ὁ θεός ἀγάπη ἐστίν thus becomes, not a metaphysical identity claim with gender discord, but a structured declaration in which the feminine subject (Agápē) is theologically and syntactically upheld as a living, indwelling referent. This translation foregrounds the internal reciprocity of divine presence and love, without compromising Greek grammar or disregarding the rhetorical texture of the Johannine idiom.

(cf.  Eli-Am אליעם)