1 John 3:17

17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

1 John 3:17 in Other Translations

KJV
17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
ESV
17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
NLT
17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
MSG
17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
CSB
17 If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need but shuts off his compassion from him-how can God's love reside in him?

1 John 3:17 In-Context

15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:

Cross References 2

  • 1. Deuteronomy 15:7,8; James 2:15,16
  • 2. 1 John 4:20
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