Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Parallel translations
- WEB Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has 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 worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
- Matt 22:39–40And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Gal 5:14For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Matt 7:12Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
- Prov 3:27–28Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
- Rom 13:7Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
- John 13:34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
- Jas 2:8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
- Col 3:14And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
- Deut 24:14–15Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
- 1 Tim 1:5Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
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.