1 John 3:12
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.”
A short, plain-language explanation of 1 John 3:12 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”
King James Version · Public Domain“not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“not as Cain--of the evil one he was, and he did slay his brother, and wherefore did he slay him? because his works were evil, and those of his brother righteous.”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo 1 John 3:12 — 24 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 4:4while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
- Genesis 4:25And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
- 1 Samuel 18:14and he continued to prosper in all his ways, because the LORD was with him.
- 1 Samuel 19:4Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David; he has not sinned against you. In fact, his actions have been highly beneficial to you.
- 1 Samuel 22:14Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s son-in-law, the captain of your bodyguard who is honored in your house?
- Psalms 37:12The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
- Psalms 38:20Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
- Proverbs 29:10Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.
- Proverbs 29:27An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.
- Matthew 13:19When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
- Matthew 13:38The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
- Matthew 23:35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
- Matthew 27:23“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”
- Luke 11:51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.
- John 10:32But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
- John 15:19If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
- John 18:38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.
- Acts 7:52Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
- 1 Thessalonians 2:14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
- Hebrews 11:4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
- Hebrews 12:24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- 1 Peter 4:4Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.
- 1 John 2:13I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
- 1 John 3:8The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).