Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
- KJV Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
- NKJV Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
- NASB Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
- NLT We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.
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
Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. Self-giving love that edifies replaces self-pleasing.
Overview
Paul defines a love-shaped pleasing of others, not flattery, but seeking their good and edification. The aim is the neighbor's spiritual growth, not merely his comfort. This positive command counterbalances any misuse of liberty and channels Christian freedom toward building up the body. It echoes the law of love that fulfills the whole law (Romans 13).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Cor 10:24No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.
- Rom 14:19So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
- Phil 2:4–5Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
- 1 Cor 10:33as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.
- 1 Cor 9:19–22Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
- 1 Cor 13:5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
- Titus 2:9–10Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 15:2 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.