1 John 3 · Verse 15

1 John 3:15

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 3:15, King James Version

1 John 3:15 in other translations

BSBEveryone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.
WEBWhoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
ASVWhosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
YLTEvery 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,
DARBYEvery one that hates his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
BBEAnyone 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.
WebsterWhoever hateth his brother, is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

What does 1 John 3:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
15. 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 own life, rather than not deprive another of life" [Bengel]. God regards the inward disposition as tantamount to the outward act which would flow from it. Whomsoever one hates, one wishes to be dead. hath--Such a one still "abideth in death." It is not his future state, but his present, which is referred to. He who hates (that is, loveth not) his brother (1Jo 3:14), cannot in this his present state have eternal life abiding in him.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, etc. 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 hates his brother, though he does not in fact commit murder, is guilty to the same degree as if he had actually done it; but he evidently means to say that the spirit which would lead to murder is there, and that God will hold him responsible for it. Nothing is wanting but the removal of outward restraints to lead to the commission of the open deed, and God judges men as he sees them to be in their hearts. What a fearful declaration, then, is this! How many real murderers there are on the earth besides those who are detected and punished, and besides those open violators of the laws of God and man who go at large! And who is there that should not feel humbled and penitent in view of his own heart, and grateful for that sovereign mercy which has restrained him from open acts of guilt?-- for who is there who has not at some period of his life, and perhaps often, indulged in feelings of hatred, and envy, and malice towards others, which, if acted out, would have led to the commission of the awful crime of taking human life? Any man may well shudder at tile remembrance of the secret sins of his own heart, and at the thought of what he would have been but for the restraining grace of God. And how wonderful is that grace which, in the case of the true Christian, not only restrains and checks, but which effectually subdues all these feelings, and implants in their place the principles of love!

(a) "Whosoever hateth" Mt 5:21,22

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 Whosoever 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 having had deep and genuine repentance, and who doubtless found mercy from his hands who prayed for his murderers, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do! It is, however, an awful text for the consideration of those who shed human blood on frivolous pretences, or in those wars which have their origin in the worst passions of the human heart.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 John 3:11-15

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…

Read the full comment on 1 John 3:11-15 →

1 John 3:15 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

πᾶςpasEveryoneG3956
ὁhowhoG3588
μισῶνmisōnis hatingG3404
τὸνtontheG3588
ἀδελφὸνadelphonbrotherG80
αὐτοῦautouof himG846
ἀνθρωποκτόνοςanthrōpoktonosa murdererG443
ἐστίν·estinis;G1510
καὶkaiandG2532
οἴδατεoidateyou know
ὅτιhotithatG3754
πᾶςpasanyG3956
ἀνθρωποκτόνοςanthrōpoktonosmurdererG443
οὐκouknotG3756
ἔχειecheihasG2192
ζωὴνzōēnlifeG2222
αἰώνιονaiōnioneternalG166
ἐνeninG1722
αὐτῷautōhimG846
μένουσαν.menousanabiding.G3306

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 John 3:15

  • Matthew 5:21-22

    Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

  • Revelation 21:8

    But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

  • Proverbs 26:24-26

    He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.

  • John 8:44

    Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode 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 of it.

  • Leviticus 19:16-18

    Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

  • Acts 23:14

    And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

  • James 4:1-2

    From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

  • James 1:15

    Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

  • Acts 23:12

    And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

  • Matthew 5:28

    But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

  • Galatians 5:20-21

    Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

  • Mark 6:19

    Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
hateth.
Ge 27:41; Le 19:16-18; 2Sa 13:22-28; Pr 26:24-26; Mt 5:21,22,28
Mr 6:19; Ac 23:12,14; Jas 1:15; 4:1,2
hath.
Joh 4:14; Ga 5:21; 1Pe 1:23; Re 21:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 John 3:14

    We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

  • 1 John 3:15

    Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

  • 1 John 3:16

    Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Read all of 1 John 3

1 John 3:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Cualquiera que aborrece á su hermano, es homicida; y sabéis que ningún homicida tiene vida eterna permaneciente en sí.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Quiconque hait son frère est un meurtrier, et vous savez qu’aucun meurtrier n’a la vie éternelle demeurant en lui.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Jeder, der seinen Bruder haßt, ist ein Menschenmörder, und ihr wisset, daß kein Menschenmörder ewiges Leben in sich bleibend hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
omnis qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est. Et scitis quoniam omnis homicida non habet vitam æternam in semetipso manentem.