1 John 3:13 (WEB)

Passage

Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

Nearby Context

1 John 3:11 For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

1 John 3:12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

1 John 3:13 Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.

1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "surprised", "brothers", and "hates". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "surprised", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "unlike Cain who was of the evil..." into verse 14's "We know that we have passed out...", so "world" and "surprised" 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 "surprised" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.