1 John 3:15

1 John 3:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
• New International Version (NIV)Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Context of 1 John 3:15

13Brothers and sisters, don’t be surprised if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love other believers. The person who doesn’t grow in love remains in death. Everyone who hates another believer is a murderer, and you know that a murderer doesn’t have eternal life. 16We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. 17Now, suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need. How can God’s love be in that person if he doesn’t bother to help the other believer?

1 John 3:15 word by word

πᾶς ὁ μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστίν· καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι πᾶς ἀνθρωποκτόνος οὐκ ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐν αὐτῷ μένουσαν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whosoeverπᾶςpas · allG3956
• hatethμισέωmiseō · to hateG3404
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• brotherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a murdererἀνθρωποκτόνοςanthrōpoktonos · murdererG443
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• ye knowεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• noοὐou · noG3756
• hathἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• eternalαἰώνιοςaiōnios · eternalG166
• lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• abidingμένωmenō · to stayG3306
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722

Cross-references for 1 John 3:15

• Genesis 27:41So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said to himself, “The time to mourn for my father is near. Then I’ll kill my brother Jacob.”
• Leviticus 19:16Never gossip. Never endanger your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.
• 2 Samuel 13:22Absalom wouldn’t speak at all to Amnon. He hated Amnon for raping his sister Tamar.
• Proverbs 26:24Whoever is filled with hate disguises it with his speech, but inside he holds on to deceit.
• Matthew 5:21“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never murder. Whoever murders will answer for it in court.’
• Mark 6:19So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t allowed to do it
• Acts 23:12In the morning the Jews formed a conspiracy. They asked God to curse them if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul.
• James 1:15Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
• James 4:1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren’t they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you?
• John 4:14But those who drink the water that I will give them will never become thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give them will become in them a spring that gushes up to eternal life.”
• Galatians 5:21envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I’ve told you in the past and I’m telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit God’s kingdom.
• 1 Peter 1:23You have been born again, not from a seed that can be destroyed, but through God’s everlasting word that can’t be destroyed. That’s why ⌞Scripture says⌟,
• Revelation 21:8But cowardly, unfaithful, and detestable people, murderers, sexual sinners, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Commentaries on 1 John 3:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer - He has the same principle in him which was in Cain, and it may lead to the same consequences. No murderer hath eternal life - Eternal life springs from an indwelling God; and God cannot dwell in the heart where hatred and malice dwell. This text has been quoted to prove that no murderer can be saved. This is not said in the text; and there have been many instances of persons who have been guilty of murder…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer … - That is, he has the spirit of a murderer; he has that which, if it were acted out, would lead him to commit murder, as it did Cain. The private malice, the secret grudge, the envy which is cherished in the heart, is murderous in its tendency, and were it not for the outward restraints of human laws, and the dread of punishment, it would often lead to the act of murder. The apostle does not say that he who…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-15Verses 11-15 We should love the Lord Jesus, value his love, and therefore love all our brethren in Christ. This love is the special fruit of our faith, and a certain sign of our being born again. But none who rightly know the heart of man, can wonder at the contempt and enmity of ungodly people against the children of God. We know that we are passed from death to life: we may know it by the evidences of our faith in Christ, of which love to our brethren…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-22John now emphasizes that Christians need to love one another (see John 13:34).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. hateth--equivalent to "loveth not" (1Jo 3:14); there is no medium between the two. "Love and hatred, like light and darkness, life and death, necessarily replace, as well as necessarily exclude, one another" [Alford]. is a murderer--because indulging in that passion, which, if followed out to its natural consequences, would make him one. "Whereas, 1Jo 3:16 desires us to lay down our lives for the brethren; duels require one (awful to say!) to risk his…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 3:15

• Brother
• Commandments
• Hatred
• Homicide
• Life
• Malice
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Eternal life
• Appear
• Assure
• Condemn
• Murder
• Pleasing
• Sin
• Word
• Ethics
• Hate; Hatred

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