4:20a

says, “I love God”: (Speech Quotation) This is not the quotation of what someone actually said. It is an example of what someone might say. Therefore in translation it is important to consider whether it should be in direct speech or in indirect speech. See Good News Translation and the Display.

4:20b

but hates his brother: (Multiple Senses) As in 2:9b, this means treating fellow Christians in a bad way, without love. See the notes on 2:9b.

4:20c

he is a liar: (Meaning) In other words, he does not really love God. He is deceiving people when he says he loves God.

4:20d

For: (Logical Relationship) This conjunction shows that the rest of the verse explains how we know that such a person is a liar.

his brother, whom he has seen: (Meaning) This is not referring to a specific brother. John is giving a general example, saying that our fellow Christians are people we see all the time, whereas God cannot be seen at all.

cannot love God: (Meaning) John is saying that if we do not love our brothers, it is impossible for us to truly claim to be loving God. Since this is a strong negative statement, it may be expressed in some languages as a rhetorical question. See Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible.

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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.