1 John 2:9

2:9 The one who says he is in the light but still hates ¹  his fellow Christian ²  is still in the darkness.

1 John 2:11

2:11 But the one who hates his fellow Christian ³  is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. ⁴ 

1 John 4:20

4:20 If anyone says ⁵  “I love God” and yet ⁶  hates his fellow Christian, ⁷  he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian ⁸  whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ⁹ 

Proverbs 21:16

21:16 The one who wanders ¹⁰  from the way of wisdom ¹¹ 

will end up ¹²  in the company of the departed. ¹³ 

[2:9]  ¹ tn Grk “the one saying he is in the light and hating his brother.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” because of the contrast present in the two clauses.

[2:9]  ² tn Grk “his brother.” Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a). In the repeated uses of this form of address throughout the letter, it is important to remember that sometimes it refers (1) to genuine Christians (those who have remained faithful to the apostolic eyewitness testimony about who Jesus is, as outlined in the Prologue to the letter, 1:1-4; an example of this usage is 2:10; 3:14, 16), but often it refers (2) to the secessionist opponents whose views the author rejects (examples are found here at 2:9, as well as 2:11; 3:10; 3:15; 3:17; 4:20). Of course, to be technically accurate, in the latter case the reference is really to a “fellow member of the community”; the use of the term “fellow Christian” in the translation no more implies that such an individual is genuinely saved than the literal term “brother” which the author uses for such people. But a translation like “fellow member of the community” or “fellow member of the congregation” is extremely awkward and simply cannot be employed consistently throughout.

[2:11]  ³ sn The one who hates his fellow Christian. The author’s paradigm for the opponents portrays them as those who show hatred for fellow Christians (Grk “brothers,” but not referring to one’s physical siblings). This charge will be much more fully developed in chap. 3, where the author will compare the opponents to Cain (who is the model for one who hates a brother, since he ultimately murdered his own brother). In 1 John 3:17 the specific charge against the opponents will be failing to give material aid to a brother in need.

[2:11]  ⁴ sn 1 John 2:3-11. The section 2:3-11 contains three claims to intimate knowledge of God, each introduced by the phrase the one who says (participles in the Greek text) in 2:4, 6, and 9. As with the three claims beginning with “if” in the previous section (1:6, 8, 10), these indirectly reflect the claims of the opponents. Each claim is followed by the author’s evaluation and its implications.

[4:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “if anyone should say…”

[4:20]  ⁶ tn “Yet” is supplied to bring out the contrast.

[4:20]  ⁷ tn See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9.

[4:20]  ⁸ tn See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9.

[4:20]  ⁹ sn In 4:20 the author again describes the opponents, who claim to love God. Their failure to show love for their fellow Christians proves their claim to know God to be false: The one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

[21:16]  ¹⁰ tn The text uses “man” as the subject and the active participle תּוֹעֶה (to’eh) as the predicate. The image of “wandering off the path” signifies leaving a life of knowledge, prudence, and discipline.

[21:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “prudence”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “understanding”; NLT “common sense.”

[21:16]  ¹² tn Heb “will remain” or “will rest.” The Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh) does not here carry any of the connotations of comforting repose in death that the righteous enjoy; it simply means “to remain; to reside; to dwell.” The choice of this verb might have an ironic twist to it, reminding the wicked what might have been.

[21:16]  ¹³ sn The departed are the Shades (the Rephaim). The literal expression “will rest among the Shades” means “will be numbered among the dead.” So once again physical death is presented as the punishment for folly.