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Text and Translation
Greek Text
11. ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἠκούσατε ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους·
12. οὐ καθὼς Κάϊν ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν, καὶ ἔσφαξε τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ. καὶ χάριν τίνος ἔσφαξεν αὐτόν; ὅτι τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ πονηρὰ ἦν, τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ δίκαια.
13. Μὴ θαυμάζετε ἀδελφοί μου, εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος.
14. ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι μεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν, ὅτι ἀγαπῶμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς. ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφόν μένει ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ.
15. πᾶς ὁ μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστί· καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι πᾶς ἀνθρωποκτόνος οὐκ ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐν αὐτῷ μένουσαν.
16. ἐν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι εκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκε· καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰς ψυχὰς τιθέναι.
17. ὅς δʼ ἂν ἔχῃ τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ θεωρῇ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἔχοντα, καὶ κλείσῃ τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτοῦ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ, πῶς ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει ἐν αὐτῷ;
18. τεκνία μου, μὴ ἀγαπῶμεν λόγῳ μηδὲ γλώσσῃ, ἀλλʼ ἔργῳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.
English Translation
11. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another—
12. not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slaughtered his brother. And for what reason did he slaughter him? Because his works were evil, but those of his brother were righteous.
13. Wonder not my brothers if the world hates you.
14. We know that we have passed out of death to life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love the brothers abides in death.
15. The one who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that the one who is a murderer does not have eternal life abiding in him.
16. In this we have come to know the love of God, because that one laid down his life for us; and we ourselves are obliged to lay our lives for the brothers.
17. But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother in need, yet shuts off his compassion from him—how can the love of God abide in him?
18. My children, let us not love in word or tongue but in deed and truth.
Graphical Grammar
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Weighty Words
Most of the significant words are addressed in context below. However, another reverse parse exercise is worthwhile here. If you just encountered ἔσφαξε in the text (as you will in 1 John 3:12), how would you figure it out? Let’s walk through it.
- ἔσφαξε Reverse Parsing Steps
- ἔσφαξε.The ἔ must be an augment.
- If the form has an augment (ἐ- or ἠ-), it’s aorist indicative (or pluperfect).
- ἔσφαξε. ξ must be derived from a κ + σ (or maybe a χ + σ)
- Square of stops: κ (velar stop) + σ (sibilant) → ξ (voiceless velar fricative + sibilant)
- That points us toward a stem like σφαγ-. A quick lexical check suggests σφάζω (“slaughter”), whose aorist form is ἔσφαξα.
- It has a 3rd sing. aor. act. ind. form.
- ἔσφαξε.The ἔ must be an augment.
Syntax Sense
χάριν τίνος
χάριν + genitive is an idiomatic expression (in this case an “improper preposition”) meaning “because of,” “for the sake of,” or “for what reason?” Here John is asking a rhetorical “why?” question. (Smyth §§1331, 1334.)
τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ δίκαια
This is an articular adjective phrase (article + genitive chain + adjective), with an elliptical ἦν. Literally, the things “of the brother of him”’ [were] righteous. That reduces down to “but those of his brother were righteous.”
ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι μεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν
- ἡμεῖς is emphatic → “we ourselves know”
- μεταβεβήκαμεν = perfect active
- completed transfer
- with ongoing result
- ἐκ … εἰς … is a clean movement metaphor
ὁ ἀγαπῶν and ὁ μισῶν
ὁ ἀγαπῶν and ὁ μισῶν are substantival participles (‘the one loving,’ ‘the one hating’), another common Johannine way of expressing ongoing identity categories.
ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκε
- Subject identification: ἐκεῖνος
- ὑπὲρ – This is substitutionary / representative, not merely “concerning.” In Johannine ethical contexts (especially with life/death language), ὑπέρ regularly carries on behalf of, or for the sake of often with self-giving or substitutionary overtones. Translators needn’t over-theologize it. Still, “concerning us” is far too weak.
- τίθημι – This is where the verse “unlocks.” τίθημι here is idiomatic, not spatial: not “place,” but “lay down.” This is especially so with ψυχή.
- ψυχή here is not immaterial soul or inner self abstracted from the body. Rather, it is life as lived, life exposed to death, and life that can be laid down.
ὅς δʼ ἂν ἔχῃ τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου
- ὅς δʼ ἂν – This is a generic conditional relative clause: “whoever”; “anyone who.”
- δʼ is mildly adversative or transitional: “but”; or “now.” It’s often just marking a step forward in argument. Don’t over translate it.
- ἔχῃ – Present subjunctive → ongoing possession, not momentary. Fits John’s moral pattern: a settled condition of life
- τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου – βίος ≠ ψυχή. βίος means of life, livelihood; ψυχή is life itself.
- τοῦ κόσμου here is not cosmological, but qualitative: worldly, belonging to the present order.
καὶ θεωρῇ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἔχοντα
- θεωρῇ – not merely “see,” but notice, observe, perceive
- χρείαν ἔχοντα
- participial phrase modifying brother
- “having need”
- not momentary want, but real lack
- So this is not ignorance; it’s perceived need.
καὶ κλείσῃ τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτοῦ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ
- κλείσῃ – Aorist subjunctive for a decisive act: “shuts” / “closes”
- τὰ σπλάγχνα – literally, inward organs; and idiomatically: seat of compassion. Closest English equivalents: “heart,” “compassion” “deep mercy”
- ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ – “from him,” emphatic separation.
This is not mere emotional distance—it’s active withholding of compassion.
πῶς ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει ἐν αὐτῷ
This is not “the love of God does not abide in him.” It is, “how could the love of God abide in him?” πῶς here expresses moral impossibility, not uncertainty.
λόγῳ / γλώσσῃ / ἔργῳ / ἀληθείᾳ
These nouns are all dative singulars. More importantly, they are instrumental / modal datives, not indirect objects. Thus, the sense is not “love to someone by word” but “love by means of word, ” or “love in the realm of word / tongue.”
Demystifying the Discourse
The central theme of this passage–and a recurring theme in John’s writing–is that love manifests the presence of divine life. Not divine life in general, but life in Christ.
This passage is more unified than it first appears on the surface. John is not simply giving disconnected ethical commands about love, hatred, generosity, or compassion. Rather, he is tracing two fundamentally different modes of existence
- death, hatred, murder, and withholding; versus
- life, love, sacrifice, and self-giving.
Cain is the prototype of hatred flowing from evil origin. Life in Christ naturally produces self-giving love. Thus, love is not merely moral behavior for John. It is evidence that one has “passed from death to life.”
That’s why words like
- μεταβεβήκαμεν,
- μένει,
- ἀνθρωποκτόνος,
- ψυχή,
- ὀφείλομεν, and
- μένει ἐν αὐτῷ
carry such weight in this passage.
The repeated contrasts throughout the passage all reinforce this deeper Johannine pattern: conduct reveals underlying origin, identity, and abiding reality.
It is a continuation of a major Johannine movement we are already observing in translating this first epistle of John’s. Identity manifests conduct. Conduct reveals belonging. Abiding produces visible orientation. Love evidences life in Christ.
Your turn!
Translating and diagramming this lengthy section is a substantial amount of work. So, instead of loading you with prompts, I’ll leave you with just one.
- Compare this passage to 1 John 2:7-11. Do you see thematic, structural, or discourse relationships between them? What develops, repeats, or intensifies?
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Return to TBWM – I John
See complete translation of I John here.