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

13Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians. 17But whoever has the world’s possessions and sees his fellow Christian in need and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God reside in such a person?

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 his father had given to his brother. Esau said privately, “The time of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill my brother Jacob!”
• Leviticus 19:16You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord.
• 2 Samuel 13:22But Absalom said nothing to Amnon, either bad or good, yet Absalom hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar.
• Proverbs 26:24The one who hates others disguises it with his lips, but he stores up deceit within him.
• Matthew 5:21“You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’
• Mark 6:19So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not
• Acts 23:12When morning came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.
• James 1:15Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.
• James 4:1Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you?
• John 4:14But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”
• Galatians 5:21envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!
• 1 Peter 1:23You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.
• Revelation 21:8But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That 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