Bible Strands
John 15:18
If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his disciples during the Farewell Discourse, immediately after commanding them to love one another (15:17) and before explaining why the world will reject them (15:19).
The words — μισεῖ (misei) is the present active indicative of μισέω, a strong term for deliberate enmity, not casual dislike; it carries the weight of sustained, purposeful opposition.
The thread — The same logic recurs in 1 John 3:13 ("do not be surprised"), John 7:7 (the world hates Jesus because he condemns its works), and Luke 6:22 (blessed when people hate you for his name).
Why it lands — It removes the element of surprise from persecution and reassigns it: the hatred is not about you but about Christ, and your inclusion in it is the marker that you stand where he stands.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Cross-references
- 1 John 3:13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.
- John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- Luke 6:22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
- Mark 13:13 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
- Matthew 10:22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
- 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.
- James 4:4 You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
- John 15:23 Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.