1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

◄ 1 John 4:8 ►

New International Version
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

New Living Translation
But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

English Standard Version
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Berean Standard Bible
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Berean Literal Bible
The one not loving has not known God, because God is love.

King James Bible
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

New King James Version
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

New American Standard Bible
The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

NASB 1995
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

NASB 1977
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Legacy Standard Bible
The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Amplified Bible
The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

Christian Standard Bible
The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

American Standard Version
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Contemporary English Version
God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him.

English Revised Version
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The person who doesn't love doesn't know God, because God is love.

Good News Translation
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

International Standard Version
The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Majority Standard Bible
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

NET Bible
The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

New Heart English Bible
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Webster's Bible Translation
He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.

Weymouth New Testament
He who is destitute of love has never had any knowledge of God; because God is love.

World English Bible
He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love.

Berean Literal Bible
The one not loving has not known God, because God is love.

Young's Literal Translation
he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love.

Smith's Literal Translation
He not loving knows not God; for God is love.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is charity.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Whoever does not love, does not know God. For God is love.

New American Bible
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

New Revised Standard Version
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
He who does not love, does not know God; for God is love.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Because God is love, and everyone who does not love does not know God.

NT Translations

Anderson New Testament
He that loves not, does not know God; for God is love.

Godbey New Testament
The one not loving with divine love does not know God; because God is divine love.

Haweis New Testament
He that loveth not, never knew God; for God is love.

Mace New Testament
he that has not social affection, does not know God; for God is love.

Weymouth New Testament
He who is destitute of love has never had any knowledge of God; because God is love.

Worrell New Testament
He that loves not never knew God; because God is love.

Worsley New Testament
He, that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is love.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Love Comes from God
7Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 3:16
By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Romans 5:8
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. / It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. / Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. ...

John 4:24
God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

Ephesians 2:4-5
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, / made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

1 John 4:16
And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

1 John 2:5
But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:

1 John 3:1
Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

John 15:9-10
As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. / If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

1 John 4:10
And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,

1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Treasury of Scripture

He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.

knoweth.

1 John 2:4,9
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him…

1 John 3:6
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

John 8:54,55
Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: …

God is.

1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Exodus 34:6,7
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, …

Psalm 86:5,15
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee…

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1 John 4

1. He warns them not to believe all who boast of the Spirit;
7. and exhorts to brotherly love.

Berean Study Bible

Whoever does not love
This phrase sets a clear and universal standard for believers. The Greek word for "love" here is "agapē," which refers to a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. In the context of early Christianity, this was a radical departure from the more common forms of love, such as "eros" (romantic love) or "philia" (brotherly love). The use of "whoever" emphasizes the inclusivity of this command, indicating that no one is exempt from the call to love. Historically, this was a defining characteristic of the early Christian community, setting them apart in a world often marked by division and strife.

does not know God
The Greek word for "know" is "ginōskō," which implies an intimate, experiential knowledge rather than mere intellectual assent. In the Jewish tradition, to "know" God was to have a deep, personal relationship with Him, akin to the covenant relationship described throughout the Old Testament. This phrase underscores the inseparable link between love and the knowledge of God. It suggests that without love, one cannot truly understand or experience the nature of God. This was a profound statement in the context of the Greco-Roman world, where knowledge was often seen as an abstract or philosophical pursuit.

because God is love
This is one of the most profound theological declarations in the New Testament. The Greek construction here is "ho Theos agapē estin," which can be translated as "God is love." This is not merely an attribute of God but His very essence. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God's love is often demonstrated through His covenant faithfulness and mercy. The early church fathers, such as Augustine and Athanasius, emphasized that this love is both immanent and transcendent, meaning it is present within creation and yet beyond it. This statement challenges believers to reflect God's nature in their own lives, embodying His love in their interactions with others. Historically, this understanding of God as love has been a cornerstone of Christian theology, influencing countless doctrines and practices throughout the centuries.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 8. - In giving the opposite, St. John again varies the thought, this time very remarkably. Instead of "love is of God" (verse 7), we have "God is Love" - a far deeper thought; and instead of "knoweth not God," we have "knew not God," or, as we should say in English, "hath not known" or "never knew God." The man's not loving his brother shows that in no real sense has he ever in the past known God: he is of the world (chapter 3:1), not of God. We must beware of watering down "God is Love" into "God is loving," or even "God of all beings is the most loving." Love is not a mere attribute of God; like light, it is his very nature. As "God is Light" sums up the Being of God intellectually considered, so "God is Love" sums up the same on the moral side. Only when this strong meaning is given to the statement does St. John's argument hold, that "he that loveth not knoweth not God." A man who has no idea of any one of the attributes of God, as order, or beauty, or power, or justice, has an imperfect knowledge of God. But he who has no idea of love has no knowledge of God, for love is himself. God alone loves in the fullest and highest sense of the word; for he alone loves with perfect disinterestedness. It is love which alone can explain creation. Why should a Being perfectly blessed in himself create other beings, but to bestow a blessing upon them?

Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

Whoever
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

does not love
ἀγαπῶν (agapōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 25: To love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem. Perhaps from agan; to love.

does not know
ἔγνω (egnō)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1097: A prolonged form of a primary verb; to 'know' in a great variety of applications and with many implications.

God,
Θεόν (Theon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

because
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

God
Θεὸς (Theos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

is
ἐστίν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

love.
ἀγάπη (agapē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 26: From agapao; love, i.e. Affection or benevolence; specially a love-feast.

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NT Letters: 1 John 4:8 He who doesn't love doesn't know God (1J iJ 1Jn i jn 1 jo)