Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Parallel translations
- KJV Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
- BSB Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
- NKJV Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
- NASB Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.
- NLT Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.
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
Owe nothing except the continuing debt of love, for love fulfills the law.
Overview
Paul transitions from civic debts to the one obligation that is never discharged: love for one another. Loving one's neighbor is presented as the fulfillment of God's law toward others. This roots Christian ethics not in mere rule-keeping but in the love that the gospel produces.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Rom 13:10Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
- Matt 22:39–40A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Gal 5:14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Matt 7:12Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
- Prov 3:27–28Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.
- Rom 13:7Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
- John 13:34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.
- Jas 2:8However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
- Col 3:14Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
- Deut 24:14–15You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers, or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates.
- 1 Tim 1:5but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 13:8 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.