1 John 3:15
What does 1 John 3:15 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 John 3:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 John 3:15 means
John traces hatred to its murderous root. To harbor hatred toward a brother is to carry the seed of murder in the heart. God, who looks at the heart, counts such hatred as opposed to life. Therefore, “no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” Eternal life is not only a future hope; it is an indwelling reality incompatible with hatred’s violence. The verse urges believers to treat inner animosities seriously and to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Life from God produces love; where murder’s seed dwells unchallenged, God’s life does not abide.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Anyone who has hate for his brother is a taker of life, and you may be certain that no taker of life has eternal life in him.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Every one who is hating his brother--a man-killer he is, and ye have known that no man-killer hath life age-during in him remaining,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Every one that hates his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Context
This follows the assurance of verse 14 by warning about the opposite disposition. The contrast clarifies the stakes: love signals life; hatred aligns with death. John is preparing to define love positively in verse 16 through Christ’s self-sacrifice and then to move from principle to practice in verses 17–18. The flow is pastoral: expose the heart-level danger of hatred, then immediately display Christ’s love and command us into concrete acts of care. In this way, John replaces destructive impulses with a Christ-shaped pattern of self-giving.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Mark 6:19
And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; and she could not;
- Proverbs 26:24
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips; But he layeth up deceit within him:
- Galatians 5:20
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,
- Revelation 21:8
But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.
- John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.
- Acts 23:12
And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
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