independentrelativepurposecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
The prologue — the Word of life, heard, seen, handled, proclaimed 1:1–4
vv. 1–2 — the fourfold Ὅ, suspended; the parenthesis of the life manifested
1
What was from the beginning,relative — object 1, suspended — leans forward on ἀπαγγέλλομεν (v. 3)
what we have heard,relative — object 2 — perfect: the hearing still in force
what we have seen with our eyes,relative — object 3 — sight, with the emphatic 'our eyes'
what we beheld and our hands handled,relative — object 4 — from gaze to touch: the aorists of the encounter
concerning the Word of life —phrase modifier — the theme of the whole pile — the λόγος borderline personal (John 1:1)
2
and the life was manifested,independent — parenthesis opens — hung on τῆς ζωῆς: the life stepped into view
and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal lifeindependent — coordinate — seen, witnessed, proclaimed: the triple chain inside the parenthesis
which was with the Father and was manifested to us —relative — on τὴν ζωήν — ἦν πρός echoing John 1:1–2; the parenthesis closes
vv. 3–4 — the sentence lands: we proclaim, for fellowship and full joy
3
what we have seen and heardrelative — the object resumed after the parenthesis — vv. 1's pile restated
we proclaim also to you,independent — the long-delayed main verb — the whole prologue lands here
so that you too may have fellowship with us;purpose — the aim of the proclamation — shared κοινωνία
and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.phrase modifier — verbless expansion — καὶ … δέ: that fellowship is nothing less than with Father and Son
4
And these things we write,independent — the epistolary close of the prologue — ἡμεῖς emphatic: 'we write'
so that our joy may be made full.purpose — the aim — ἡμῶν 'our joy' read with the better witnesses; periphrastic perfect
God is light — the ἐὰν lattice of denial and confession 1:5–10
v. 5 — the message: God is light
5
And this is the messageindependent — the header — αὕτη points forward to the ὅτι
which we have heard from him and announce to you:relative — on ἡ ἀγγελία — heard from him (Christ), relayed to you
that God is light,content — the message's content — the positive
and in him there is no darkness at all.content — the content's negative half — the double negative absolute
vv. 6–7 — first pair: fellowship claimed in darkness / walking in the light
6
If we sayconditional — denial 1 — protasis, leaning on the verdict below
that we have fellowship with himcontent — the claim — fellowship with the God who is light
and yet walk in the darkness,conditional — the protasis's second limb — the walk contradicting the claim
we lieindependent — verdict — the lie spoken
and do not practice the truth;independent — verdict doubled — truth is done, not merely said
7
but if we walk in the light,conditional — the positive counterpart — protasis, leaning forward
as he himself is in the light,comparative — the standard — he IS in the light; we walk in it
we have fellowship with one another,independent — apodosis 1 — μετ' ἀλλήλων: mutual, not merely with God
and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.independent — apodosis 2 — present tense: the blood keeps cleansing
vv. 8–9 — second pair: sin denied / sins confessed
8
If we sayconditional — denial 2 — protasis, leaning on the verdict below
that we have no sin,content — the claim — singular ἁμαρτία: no sin-principle in us
we deceive ourselvesindependent — verdict — the deception turned inward
and the truth is not in us.independent — verdict doubled — truth absent from within
9
If we confess our sins,conditional — the positive counterpart — plural: the sins named, not the principle denied
he is faithful and just,independent — apodosis — God's character the ground of pardon
so as to forgive us our sinspurpose — ἵνα of issue — faithfulness and justice work themselves out in forgiving
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.purpose — the second limb — cleansing answering v. 7's καθαρίζει
v. 10 — third denial: making him a liar
10
If we sayconditional — denial 3 — protasis, leaning on the verdict below
that we have not sinned,content — the claim escalated — perfect: no sin ever committed
we make him a liar,independent — verdict — the charge flung back at God himself
and his word is not in us.independent — verdict doubled — the section's darkest close: his λόγος not in us
Analysis. Verses 1–4 are one famously suspended sentence — after Ephesians 1, the New Testament's most celebrated anacoluthon-that-isn't — and the layout renders the suspension honestly: the four dashed coral relatives of v. 1 (Ὃ ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς … ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν … ὃ ἑωράκαμεν … ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα) are objects flung forward before their verb, hanging with no anchor because the word they lean on has not yet been said; beneath them sits the theme-phrase περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς, and from its last word the whole v. 2 parenthesis hangs — the life manifested, seen, witnessed, proclaimed, with the ἥτις relative reaching back to John 1:1's ἦν πρός — until v. 3 restates the object (ὃ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, dashed again) and the sentence finally lands on the flush-left purple ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν, with its amber purposes: fellowship for you, joy made full for us. Verses 5–10 shift texture entirely: after the ἀγγελία header with its two-sided content (God is light / no darkness at all), the section is an antithetical conditional lattice — five olive ἐὰν protases, each leaning forward onto its flush-left verdict, alternating negative and positive: three ἐὰν εἴπωμεν denials (fellowship claimed while walking in darkness; no sin; never sinned) with their ὅτι-claims indented beneath, answered by paired verdicts (we lie / we self-deceive / we make him a liar), interleaved with the two positive protases — walking in the light, confessing the sins — whose apodoses give fellowship, the ever-cleansing blood, and the faithful-and-just forgiveness. Interpretive choices the layout takes a side on: the v. 1 Ὅ-clauses are read as objects of v. 3's ἀπαγγέλλομεν (not subjects of an unstated verb), so v. 2 is a true parenthesis, hung here on τῆς ζωῆς, whose word it picks up; v. 3b (καὶ ἡ κοινωνία δὲ ἡ ἡμετέρα) is taken as a verbless declaration — 'and our fellowship IS with the Father' — rather than as part of the ἵνα clause; v. 4 reads ἡμεῖς/ἡμῶν ('we write … our joy') with the better witnesses; v. 7's κοινωνία μετ' ἀλλήλων is mutual fellowship among believers, not God-and-us; and v. 9's ἵνα is the issue of God's faithfulness and justice — forgiveness as their outworking — not a strict purpose.