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Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
Romans 12:10 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor preferring one another;
  • KJV Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
  • NKJV Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
  • NASB Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor,
  • NLT Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

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

Show warm, family affection to one another and outdo one another in showing honor.

Overview

Paul calls believers to love marked by tender, brotherly affection, the warmth of a true family in Christ. 'In honor preferring one another' means actively esteeming and giving way to others rather than seeking one's own status. Such mutual honor reflects the humility Christ himself embodied.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Phil 2:3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
  • John 13:34–35A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
  • Heb 13:1Continue in brotherly love.
  • 1 Jn 4:11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
  • 1 Pet 3:8–9Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
  • 1 Pet 1:22Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
  • 1 Pet 2:17Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
  • 1 Th 4:9Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
  • Gal 5:13For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
  • Eph 4:1–3As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
  • Ps 133:1A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
  • Gal 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
  • 1 Jn 4:20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
  • 2 Pet 1:7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
  • John 15:17This is My command to you: Love one another.
  • 1 Pet 5:5Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
  • Acts 4:32The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.
  • 2 Th 1:3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
  • Rom 13:7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
  • Luke 14:10But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you.
  • John 17:21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
  • Matt 20:26It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
  • 1 Jn 2:9–11If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
  • Col 1:4because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
  • Gal 5:6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
  • 1 Jn 3:10–18By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
  • Gen 13:9Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
  • Job 1:4Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 12:10YouTube · 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 RomansMatthew 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

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 12:10 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.