1 John 2:10

Occasion of stumbling] lit. 'stumbling-block,' that which may cause himself or others to fall, in this case probably (see next v.) himself. Without love no one can walk in the light of God's truth.

12-14. In these vv. the readers are addressed, twice over, as (1) 'little children,' (2) 'fathers,' (3) 'young men.' Probably the first of these is the term of endearment already used (1 John 2:1), including the whole community. Next, the old and the young are respectively addressed as 'fathers,' 'young men.' Corresponding to the two series of personal addresses is a change in the tense of the verb from 'I write' to 'I wrote,' or 'I have written': see RV, noting change in 1 John 2:13. Perhaps 'I write' refers to the Epistle, 'I wrote' to the Gospel; or else the change is made for variety, the present being used from the writer's standpoint, the past from that of the readers, when the message would reach them.