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 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 marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

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 with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
• Leviticus 19:16You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
• 2 Samuel 13:22And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
• Proverbs 26:24He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And lays up deceit within himself;
• Matthew 5:21“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
• Mark 6:19Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;
• Acts 23:12And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
• James 1:15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
• James 4:1Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
• John 4:14but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
• Galatians 5:21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• 1 Peter 1:23having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
• Revelation 21:8But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which 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