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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

Context of 1 John 3:15

13Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that 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 27:41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
• Leviticus 19:16“ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.
• 2 Samuel 13:22And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
• Proverbs 26:24Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
• Matthew 5:21“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
• Mark 6:19So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,
• Acts 23:12The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
• James 1:15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
• James 4:1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
• John 4:14but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
• Galatians 5:21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• 1 Peter 1:23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
• Revelation 21:8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to 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