1 John 2:11

Contextual Overview

⁷Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. ⁷ Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. ⁷ Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ⁷Cowboys, this directive I am writing to you is not a new one. It's the old one you've heard from the beginning of your ride—love each other and have each other's backs. You already know it. ⁷ My loved ones, I do not give you a new law, but an old law which you had from the first; this old law is the word which came to your ears. ⁷ Beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which ye have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye heard. ⁷ Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. ⁷ Beloved, I write not a new commandment to you, but the old commandment, which ye have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. ⁷ My dearly-loved friends, it is no new command that I am now giving you, but an old command which you have had from the very beginning. By the old command I mean the teaching which you have already received. ⁷ Brethren, I write no new commandement vnto you, but an olde commandement which ye had from the beginning: the old commandement is the word which ye haue heard from the beginning.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he that: 1 John 2:9, John 12:35, Titus 3:3

and walketh: Proverbs 4:19, John 12:35

because: John 12:40, 2 Corinthians 3:14, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Revelation 3:17

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:4 - hated him Leviticus 19:17 - hate Job 12:25 - grope Psalms 82:5 - walk Proverbs 4:12 - thou shalt Ecclesiastes 2:14 - wise Isaiah 59:10 - grope Jeremiah 13:16 - your Jeremiah 23:12 - in the Zephaniah 1:17 - they shall Matthew 6:23 - thine John 9:39 - might be John 11:10 - General Ephesians 4:18 - because 1 John 3:14 - that loveth

Cross-References

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:7
And the children of Chus: Seba, and Hauilah, and Sabthah, and Raamah, and Sabtheca.

Genesis 10:7
Cush's sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah's sons were Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Hav'ilah, Sabtah, Ra'amah, and Sab'teca. The sons of Ra'amah: Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:7
Forsothe the sones of Thus weren Saba, and Euila, and Sabatha, and Regma, and Sabatacha. The sones of Regma weren Saba, and Dadan.

Genesis 10:7
And the sonnes of Cush, Seba, and Hauilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sonnes of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan.

Genesis 10:7
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness,.... As is before expressed in 1 John 2:9, to which is added,

and walketh in darkness; he goes on in it, and takes delight in it, as dangerous and uncomfortable as it is:

and knoweth not whither he goeth; he cannot discern between good and evil; he puts darkness for light, and light for darkness; he sees not what is before him, nor what stumblingblocks lie in the way; he is not aware of the snares, pits, and traps he is in danger of falling into; nor does he know and consider what these paths of darkness, of sin, and ignorance, and infidelity, lead unto, even unto utter darkness, where is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth: and the reason is,

because that darkness hath blinded his eyes; either Satan, the god of this world, who blinds the minds of them that believe not, and who is darkness itself, and the cause of darkness in himself and in others, and one of whose names this was with the Jews e;

1 John 2:9- :; or that natural darkness which sin has brought upon the understanding, and has blinded the eyes of it, called the blindness of the heart, Ephesians 4:18, so that a man under the power of it is ignorant of himself, and knows not that he is blind and miserable; is a stranger to the way of peace, and life by Christ, and knows not what he is about, and where he is, or whither he is going, and what his end will be.

e Yalkut Simconi, par. 2. fol. 44. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But he that hateth his brother - The word here used would, in this connection, include both the mere absence of love, and positive hatred. It is designed to include the whole of that state of mind where there is not love for the brethren.

Is in darkness - 1 John 2:9.

And walketh in darkness - He is like one who walks in the dark, and who sees no object distinctly. See the notes at John 12:35.

And knoweth not whither he goeth - Like one in the dark. He wanders about not knowing what direction he shall take, or where the course which he is on will lead. The general meaning is, that he is ignorant of the whole nature of religion; or, in other words, love to the brethren is a central virtue in religion, and when a man has not that, his mind is entirely clouded on the whole subject, and he shows that he knows nothing of its nature. There is no virtue that is designed to be made more prominent in Christianity; and there is none that will throw its influence farther over a man’s life.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 11. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness — He is still in his heathen or unconverted state; and walketh in darkness, his conduct being a proof of that state; and knoweth not whither he goeth - having no proper knowledge of God or eternal things; and cannot tell whether he is going to heaven or hell, because that darkness has blinded his eyes - darkened his whole soul, mind, and heart.