My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just:
Glossa Ordinaria
My little children, these things I write, etc. Lest you take up an evil security, hearing that you are cleansed by God, but that you may have a useful fear. If anyone shall have sinned. If out of human frailty you cannot avoid all vices, take pains that you avoid at least the greater and more open ones, so that no temptation may take hold of you but such as is human. But if anyone, even after my admonition, shall have fallen, let him not despair. An advocate. He is not an advocate except to those who call upon him. Let your sins displease you, cry out: and he himself hears and sets free. The just one. A just advocate does not take up unjust causes; yet he will defend us as just in the judgement, if we now accuse ourselves as unjust.
English is machine-translated from the public-domain Latin (Glossa Ordinaria, Migne, Patrologia Latina 113-114, 1852; digital text from Corpus Corporum, mlat.uzh.ch), since no public-domain English translation exists. It is not a scholarly translation. Please report errors.