1 John 4:20
What does 1 John 4:20 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 John 4:20 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 John 4:20 means
John exposes the contradiction of professing love for the unseen God while hating a visible brother. Such a claim is a lie, because love for God necessarily expresses itself toward those made in His image and especially toward fellow believers. The easier test—loving the seen—precedes the harder—loving the unseen. If we fail the first, our profession is hollow. This is not an excuse to ignore God, but a demand for integrity: love must be real, practical, and relational. Genuine piety produces tangible charity. Hatred toward a brother unmasks a heart untouched by the God who is love.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.
KJV
King James Version · 1611If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949If a man says, I have love for God, and has hate for his brother, his words are false: for how is the man who has no love for his brother whom he has seen, able to have love for God whom he has not seen?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862if any one may say--`I love God,' and his brother he may hate, a liar he is; for he who is not loving his brother whom he hath seen, God--whom he hath not seen--how is he able to love?
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752If any man say: I love God, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890If any one say, I loveGod, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he loveGod whom he has not seen?
Context
Having established love’s source and fear’s banishment (vv. 18–19), John applies a concrete test. Verse 20 challenges empty profession by tying love for God to love for a brother whom one can see. This leads directly to verse 21’s summary command, linking love for God and brother as inseparable. The section ends where it began: love is essential evidence of knowing God in Christ.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 1 John 2:4
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
- 1 John 3:17
But whoso hath the world’s goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?
- 1 John 4:12
No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:
- 1 John 2:11
But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.
- 1 John 1:6
If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
- 1 John 2:9
He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now.
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