Limitless Word
He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
1 John 2:10 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
  • BSB Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.
  • NKJV He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
  • NASB The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling.
  • NLT Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Loving fellow believers shows one abides in the light, with no cause for stumbling. Love keeps us on a stable, godly path.

Overview

The one who loves remains in the light and has nothing in him to cause stumbling, whether for himself or others. Love produces moral and spiritual stability. Contrasted with the hater of the next verse, the loving believer walks securely in fellowship with God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • 1 Jn 3:14We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.
  • Rom 9:32–33Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone;
  • Rom 14:13Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling.
  • Hos 6:3Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
  • 2 Pet 1:10Therefore, brothers, be more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble.
  • John 8:31Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples.
  • Matt 18:7“Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
  • Matt 13:21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
  • Luke 17:1–2He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!
  • Phil 1:10so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 John 2:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'

How 1 John 2:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.