Paragraph 3:13–15

Read 3:13–15 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: John is saying that our love of one another shows that we are different from non-Christians.

3:13 (Logical Relationship)

This verse is giving the lesson to be learned from 3:11–12, namely that the people of the world will always hate God’s people, just as Cain hated Abel. In your translation you may need to make this link clear by a linking word (like “So” in Good News Translation), or by a phrase (see the Display).

3:13a

brothers: (Cross-cultural Difference) In all other places in this letter John addresses his readers as “my children,” or “my friends.” He probably calls them his brothers here because he is talking about brotherly love among Christians. In some languages it may sound as if John is referring to two different groups of people, “my children” and “my brothers.” If that is the case in your language you should translate the basic meaning here, “my fellows,” or “my fellow Christians.”

3:13b

if the world hates you: (Lexical Problem) John is certain that the world hates Christians. This is not just a possibility. So it may be better to translate this as “that/when the world hates you.” See The Jerusalem Bible, Revised Standard Version.

the world: (Multiple Senses) As in 3:1d, this refers to the people of this world. See the note on 3:1d.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.