“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” – this sentence comes from the third book of Moses, and Jesus makes it the second most important commandment of all. Here you will find 23 Bible verses about love for your neighbor: what it is, who your neighbor is, and what it looks like in everyday life.
Love your neighbor
The commandment and its interpretation.
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You shall not be covetous nor hold anger against the children of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself; for I am the LORD.
3. Moses 19,18
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But the other is like unto him: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets.
Matthew 22,39-40
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Be indebted to no one, but love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13,8Money
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For love does no evil to your neighbor. Thus is now the fulfillment of the law of love.
Romans 13,10Law
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For all the commandments are fulfilled in one word, namely: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5,14Law
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If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you do good.
James 2,8
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I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. Then everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13,34-35
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If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.
1. John 4,20-21
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My little ones, let us not love with words nor with the tongue, but with deeds and in truth.
1. John 3,18Good WorksTruth
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Therefore be temperate and sober in prayer. But above all, have fervent love for one another; for love covers a multitude of sins.
1. Peter 4,8Relationships
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Let your brotherly love for one another be hearty. Let each one honor the other.
Romans 12,10FriendlinessRecognition
Who is my neighbor?
Jesus widens the view – beyond family, people, and friends.
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But he wanted to justify himself and said to Jesus: “Who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10,29
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But a Samaritan traveled and came there; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, went to him, bound up his wounds, poured oil and wine on them, set him on his own animal, brought him to the inn, and cared for him.
Luke 10,33-34
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Which of these three do you think was the neighbor to the one who fell into the hands of the robbers? He said: The one who showed him mercy. Then Jesus said to him: Go and do likewise!
Luke 10,36-37Mercy
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He shall dwell with you as a native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD, your God.
3. Moses 19,34Hospitality
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But I say unto you: Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; pray for them that insult and persecute you.
Matthew 5,44Persecution
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And as you would have people do unto you, so do you also unto them.
Luke 6,31
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For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.
Matthew 25,35-36
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And the King will answer and say unto them: Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
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Bear one another's burdens, and ye shall fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6,2CompassionCommunity
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Now therefore, when we have time, let us do good unto all men, and chiefly unto those who are of the faith.
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And let no man look out for his own, but for his neighbor's also.
Philippians 2,4
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Forget not to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13,2HospitalityAngels
Bible texts: Luther Bible 1912 (public domain), carefully adapted to modern spelling.
Related Topics
This Goes Well Together
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What Does Love for Your Neighbor Mean?
The commandment to love your neighbor is found in 3. Moses 19,18 right in the middle of very practical rules: do not withhold wages, do not put obstacles in the way of the blind, leave something for the poor when harvesting. Love for your neighbor is therefore practical from the start. “As yourself” does not mean that you must first love yourself, but rather: Just as naturally as you care for yourself, care for the other. Jesus summarizes it in the Golden Rule: “And as you would have people do unto you, so do you also unto them” (Luke 6,31).
The Good Samaritan
When a scholar asks “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10,29), Jesus tells of a man who lies robbed by the roadside. A priest and a Levite pass by, but a Samaritan – an outsider to Jesus’ listeners – helps. In the end, Jesus turns the question around: Not “Who is my neighbor?”, but “Whom will I become a neighbor to?”. Love for your neighbor begins where you stop. Find out more about Bible verses about compassion, Bible verses about mercy, and Bible verses about service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does “Love your neighbor as yourself” appear?
First in 3. Moses 19,18. Jesus quotes the commandment in Matthew 22,39, Mark 12,31, and Luke 10,27; Paul and James also use it.
What is the Golden Rule?
According to Luke 6,31, the Golden Rule is: “And as you would have people do unto you, so do you also unto them!” A similar version is found in Matthew 7,12.
