1 John 3:15 (DRB)

Passage

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself.

Nearby Context

1 John 3:13 Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you.

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death.

1 John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself.

1 John 3:16 In this we have known the charity of God, because he hath laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1 John 3:17 He that hath the substance of this world and shall see his brother in need and shall shut up his bowels from him: how doth the charity of God abide in him?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whosoever", "hateth", "brother", "murderer", "hath", "eternal", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whosoever" and "hateth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "We know that we have passed from..." into verse 16's "In this we have known the charity...", so "whosoever" and "hateth" 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 "whosoever" and "hateth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.