Christian Standard Bible
1 John 3:10
10This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.
1 John 3:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
- New International Version (NIV)This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
- English Standard Version (ESV)By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
Context of 1 John 3:10
8The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works. 9Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister. 11For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
Read all of 1 John 31 John 3:10 word by word
ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου. πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- the childrenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
- of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- manifestφανερόςphaneros · clearG5318
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- of the devilδιάβολοςdiabolos · devilish/the DevilG1228
- whosoeverπᾶςpas · allG3956
- doethποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
- notμήmē · notG3361
- righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
- notοὐou · noG3756
- ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- he that lovethἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
Cross-references for 1 John 3:10
- 1 John 5:2This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands.
- Luke 6:35But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.
- Romans 8:16The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,
- Ephesians 5:1Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children,
- Matthew 13:38the field is the world; and the good seed — these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,
- John 8:44You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
- Acts 13:10and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?
- 1 John 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
- 1 John 2:29If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
- 1 John 4:3but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.
- 1 John 5:19We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one.
- John 8:47The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”
- 3 John 1:11Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- 1 John 3:14We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.
- 1 John 2:9The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now.
- 1 John 4:8The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Commentaries on 1 John 3:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10In this the children of God are manifest - Here is a fearful text. Who is a child of the devil? He that commits sin. Who is a child of God? He that works righteousness. By this text we shall stand or fall before God, whatever our particular creed may say to the contrary. Neither he that loveth not his brother - No man is of God who is not ready on all emergencies to do any act of kindness for the comfort, relief, and support of any human being. For, as…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10In this the children of God are manifest - That is, this furnishes a test of their true character. The test is found in doing righteousness, and in the love of the brethren. The former he had illustrated; the latter he now proceeds to illustrate. The general idea is, that if a person is not truly a righteous person, and does not love the brethren, he cannot be a child of God. Perhaps by the phrase in this, using a pronoun in the singular number, he…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-10Verses 3-10 The sons of God know that their Lord is of purer eyes than to allow any thing unholy and impure to dwell with him. It is the hope of hypocrites, not of the sons of God, that makes allowance for gratifying impure desires and lusts. May we be followers of him as his dear children, thus show our sense of his unspeakable mercy, and express that obedient, grateful, humble mind which becomes us. Sin is the rejecting the Divine law. In him, that is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10To practice righteousness means to live in a right relationship with God. This is different from what the false teachers claimed. They taught that their spiritual life was not affected by what they did in their physical bodies. Living righteously does not mean that we live perfect lives (1:8). It means we confess our sins and stay in a right relationship with God (1:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. children of the devil--(See on 1Jo 3:8; Ac 13:10). There is no middle class between the children of God and the children of the devil. doeth not righteousness--Contrast 1Jo 2:29. he that loveth not his brother--(1Jo 4:8); a particular instance of that love which is the sum and fulfilment of all righteousness, and the token (not loud professions, or even seemingly good works) that distinguishes God's children from the devil's.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 3:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 John 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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