1 John 3:17 (DBY)

Passage

But whoso may have the world's substance, and see his brother having need, and shut up his bowels from him, how abides the love of God in him?

Nearby Context

1 John 3:15 Every one that hates his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 3:16 Hereby we have known love, because *he* has laid down his life for us; and *we* ought for the brethren to lay down [our] lives.

1 John 3:17 But whoso may have the world's substance, and see his brother having need, and shut up his bowels from him, how abides the love of God in him?

1 John 3:18 Children, let us not love with word, nor with tongue, but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:19 And hereby we shall know that we are of the truth, and shall persuade our hearts before him

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "whoso", "world's", "substance", "brother", "having", "need", and "shut". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "whoso", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Hereby we have known love because he..." into verse 18's "Children let us not love with word...", so "world" and "whoso" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "whoso" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.