The neighbor command belongs with love for God. Scripture gives it substance through food and clothing, truthful dealings, patient attention, and costly mercy. Some passages address Israel’s covenant life or care within the church; Jesus’ teaching about enemies and the apostles’ call to do good to all keep that care reaching beyond familiar circles.
Seek your neighbor’s good before God
Give another person’s welfare a real place in your decisions. In Mark 12:28–31, Jesus answers a scribe’s question about the foremost commandment by naming wholehearted love for the Lord and then love for the neighbor as oneself. The two belong together: devotion to God gives you responsibilities toward other people. The scribe recognizes that these loves matter more than offerings and sacrifices, and Jesus commends his understanding in verses 32–34. Faithful worship includes the way you treat the person before you.
To love your neighbor as yourself is to seek that person’s good with the serious concern you bring to your own needs. The command directs that familiar concern outward. Matthew 22:37–40 says that the law and prophets hang on love for God and neighbor. These loves give unity to God’s instruction: the particular commands teach you how to honor God and pursue another person’s good.
The command first appears among concrete responsibilities. Leviticus 19:1–18 addresses Israel as a people called to reflect the holiness of the LORD. It requires leaving harvest produce for the poor and stranger, dealing honestly, paying workers promptly, respecting people who are deaf or blind, and judging fairly. It also addresses slander, hatred, correction, vengeance, and grudges. Love in verse 18 gathers these concerns into a personal obligation. The agricultural and judicial provisions belong to Israel’s covenant life; they show how seriously God takes a neighbor’s livelihood, dignity, and safety.
Jesus gives a searching guide for action in Matthew 7:12: do to others what you would have them do to you. It follows his invitation to ask the heavenly Father for good things. In verses 9–11, a son asks for bread or fish; a caring father gives food rather than a stone or serpent, and Jesus reasons that the heavenly Father gives good gifts all the more. Verse 12 turns toward your treatment of others. Consider what would actually help the other person, and take the initiative to give that kind of care. The standard calls for active good, with God’s goodness directing what good means.
Further study: John J. Collins · Richard Elliott Friedman
Become a neighbor through practical mercy
Jesus teaches neighbor love by making mercy something you do. In Luke 10:25–28, an expert in the law asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus directs him to Scripture, and the man answers with love for God and neighbor. Jesus affirms the answer and tells him to act on it and live. The man then seeks to justify himself by asking who his neighbor is. Jesus responds with a story that brings the responsibility into view.
In Luke 10:30–33, a traveler is stripped, wounded, and left half dead by robbers. A priest and a Levite each see him and pass on the other side. A Samaritan comes to the same place, sees him, and has compassion. All three encounter the need; the decisive difference is the Samaritan’s response. Jesus does not tell us the injured man’s nationality or why the first two pass by. The explanation he does give is enough to direct us: let the suffering you recognize move you toward the person who needs help.
Luke 10:34–35 follows that compassion through particular actions. The Samaritan approaches, binds the wounds, pours in oil and wine, puts the man on his own animal, brings him to an inn, and cares for him. The next day he pays the innkeeper and undertakes the additional expense on his return. These details show attention, resources, personal effort, and provision for continuing care. The story illustrates mercy fitted to this wounded man’s needs. Its medicines, transport, and payment are the narrated form of that mercy; Jesus’ concluding command calls you to the same merciful concern in the needs you encounter.
The identity of the helper matters. Luke 9:51–56 has already described a Samaritan village refusing to receive Jesus because he is going to Jerusalem, followed by Jesus rebuking the disciples who propose its destruction. Now, in Luke 10:33–37, a Samaritan is the person whose conduct the law expert must recognize and imitate. Jesus directs the hearer to learn mercy across a real boundary of hostility. Neither belonging to a respected religious group nor being regarded as an outsider determines who acts as a neighbor.
Jesus ends by asking which of the three was a neighbor to the wounded man (Luke 10:36). The lawyer identifies the one who showed mercy, and Jesus says, “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37). The question now concerns the kind of person you will be toward someone in need. Attend to the person, give the help you can, and follow through with the care the need requires. Mercy becomes visible in that response.
Further study: Jeannine K. Brown · Mikeal C. Parsons · Biblical Studies Press · Biblical Studies Press
Give help that meets real needs
Let your help answer the need you have seen. First John 3:16–18 reasons from Christ laying down his life for us to our responsibility to give ourselves for fellow believers. John then brings that great example close: a person has material goods, sees a brother in need, and closes his compassion against him. How can God’s love dwell in such a response? The call to love in deed and truth means opening both the heart and the resources available to help. This passage directly concerns brothers and sisters in Christ; their needs are a concrete test of the love Christians profess.
James 2:14–17 tests a claim to faith in a similar way. A brother or sister lacks clothing and daily food. Someone speaks a wish for warmth and fullness but gives none of the bodily necessities. James asks what good this does, then calls faith without works dead. The problem is that the stated goodwill leaves the person cold and hungry. His following discussion in James 2:18–26 joins faith and action through Abraham and Rahab, ending with the comparison of a lifeless body. Respond to the actual lack with the help needed; your conduct should give living expression to your faith.
Timeliness also belongs to care. Proverbs 3:27–28 says to give the good that is due when it is in your power, and to avoid sending your neighbor away until tomorrow when you already have it. The surrounding sayings in verses 29–35 commend trustworthy, peaceable conduct under the LORD’s judgment. This wisdom directs you to use the opportunity presently given. Where help is owed and available, unnecessary delay keeps the burden on the person who needs it.
Ephesians 4:28 gives generosity a place in the purpose of work. The person who stole is to turn to honest labor so as to have something to share with someone in need. The change reaches beyond acquiring possessions rightly to using them rightly. Receive work and resources as means of serving others, and make sharing part of the way you handle what you have.
Care also involves sharing another person’s joy and sorrow. Romans 12:13–16 places meeting the saints’ needs beside hospitality, rejoicing with those who rejoice, and weeping with those who weep. Hebrews 13:1–3 joins continuing brotherly love and hospitality to remembering prisoners as though imprisoned with them, and remembering those who suffer as people who share bodily vulnerability. These instructions call you to enter into another’s concern with sympathy and attentive care. Love takes account of suffering that cannot be answered by a gift alone.
Further study: Kelsie Rodenbiker
Give people impartial and generous regard
Give people the honor that love requires without measuring their importance by wealth. James 2:1–4 pictures a richly dressed person receiving a good seat while a poor person is told to stand or sit below a footstool. Such treatment turns the assembly into a place of partial judgment. James 2:5–9 contrasts this dishonor with God’s choice of poor people rich in faith and identifies neighbor love as the royal law. Favoritism violates that command. Welcome and regard the person whose clothing or position offers you no advantage.
James gives this obligation weight. In James 2:10–13, the same Lawgiver stands behind the commandments; obedience in one area does not make partiality harmless in another. The readers must speak and act as people who will be judged, and James warns of judgment without mercy for those who have shown none. Mercy therefore belongs in the actual treatment of people, including the ordinary decisions through which they are honored or humiliated.
The stranger also has an explicit place in God’s command. Leviticus 19:33–34 tells Israel to treat the foreign resident as one born among them and to love him as themselves, recalling their own experience as strangers in Egypt. In this passage, stranger means someone residing among Israel, not simply a person one has never met. The command has that covenant setting, yet within it the text deliberately requires care across a boundary of origin. Remembered vulnerability is to deepen concern for the person living among others.
Deuteronomy 10:17–19 gives another reason: the LORD shows no partiality or acceptance of bribes, executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger by giving food and clothing. Israel is therefore to love the stranger. The passage moves from God’s character to his people’s conduct. His care is both impartial and practical. Seek fair treatment and material good for those whose situation leaves them exposed to neglect.
Let that regard also shape your words. James 3:9–12 exposes the contradiction of blessing God while cursing people made in his likeness, comparing it to a spring producing incompatible kinds of water. A person’s God-given worth calls for consistency between worship and speech. Speak with respect for that person even where you must disagree or correct. Love attends to the dignity of the one receiving your help as well as to the help itself.
Further study: John J. Collins · Richard Elliott Friedman · Kelsie Rodenbiker
Do good even to those who oppose you
Let the Father’s goodness determine your response even when another person is hostile. In Matthew 5:43–48, Jesus commands love for enemies and prayer for persecutors. He explains why: the Father gives sun and rain to evil and good, just and unjust. Loving only those who love you does no more than the reciprocal kindness Jesus observes around him. His call to be perfect as the Father is perfect reaches here into the completeness of love, extending good beyond those who return it.
Jesus describes how demanding that love can be. Matthew 5:38–42 speaks of turning the other cheek, yielding the cloak when sued for the coat, going a second mile when compelled to go one, and giving to the person who asks or would borrow. Luke 6:27–36 likewise joins blessing and prayer to generous action, including lending without making repayment the reason for doing good. These instructions call you to relinquish personal retaliation and the insistence on getting an equal return. Act for the other person’s good even when it costs you. Jesus grounds that conduct in the Most High’s kindness to the unthankful and evil.
Mercy toward an opponent is already present in Israel’s Scriptures. Exodus 23:4–5 requires returning an enemy’s straying animal and helping with the fallen animal of someone who hates you. Personal hostility does not remove the responsibility to help. Proverbs 25:21–22 similarly directs feeding a hungry enemy and giving drink to a thirsty one, entrusting reward to the LORD. These texts connect the need you can meet with the good you must do, even in an unfriendly relationship.
Romans 12:17–21 applies this pattern to Christian conduct. Paul commands peace as far as it depends on you, leaves vengeance to God, and then quotes the instruction to feed and give drink to an enemy. The image of burning coals in verse 20 describes the effect of that kindness; Paul’s surrounding commands require sincere good rather than disguised revenge. His conclusion gives the direction: overcome evil with good. You are responsible for your pursuit of peace and your merciful action; the qualification in verse 18 recognizes that peace also involves another person’s response.
Second Chronicles 28:8–15 gives a particular account of mercy replacing cruelty. Northern Israelites take captives from Judah to Samaria. The prophet Oded confronts their rage and their plan to enslave their brethren, reminding them of their own sins and God’s anger. Leaders respond by releasing the captives, clothing and feeding them, tending them, carrying the weak on animals, and returning them to Jericho. This is a narrated response to prophetic correction in conflict between related peoples. It shows what taking that correction seriously involved: the people who had been harmed received release, care, and a way home.
Further study: Carla Works · Biblical Studies Press
Let love govern your dealings, words, and correction
Love makes your everyday dealings trustworthy. Romans 13:8–10 names adultery, killing, stealing, false witness, and coveting, then gathers the commandments under love for the neighbor. Paul’s reason is that love does no harm to a neighbor. Faithfulness to another person’s marriage, life, possessions, and reputation is therefore part of love. The command is not exhausted by an act of generosity; it governs what you pursue and what you protect in the whole relationship.
Truth also serves your neighbor’s good. Ephesians 4:25 directs believers to speak truth because they belong to one another; verse 29 calls for words that build up and benefit their hearers. Verses 31–32 replace bitterness and malice with kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness grounded in God’s forgiveness through Christ. Speak so that others can rely on you, understand what needs saying, and receive help through it. The reason Paul gives is the shared life of Christ’s people, where each person’s conduct affects the others.
When wrongdoing needs attention, help the person toward what is right. Leviticus 19:17–18 puts reproof alongside the rejection of inward hatred, vengeance, and grudges. Correction belongs within concern for a neighbor, not the cultivation of resentment. Galatians 6:1 gives Christians the manner and aim: restore the person caught in a fault with meekness, watching yourself because you too can be tempted. Address what needs to change with humility and a desire for the person’s restoration.
Give help with the character of love itself. First Corinthians 13:1–3 says that even impressive speech, knowledge, and the giving away of possessions can lack charity—the KJV word here for love. Verses 4–7 describe patience, kindness, humility, freedom from self-seeking, and rejoicing in truth rather than wrongdoing. Paul is teaching a congregation how its gifts and service must be governed. The manner in which you act matters alongside the action: seek the person’s good patiently, truthfully, and without making your service a display of importance.
Receive God’s love and learn to love from it
The love God requires has its source in what he has given. First John 4:9–11 explains that God sent his only begotten Son so that we might live through him, and sent him as the sacrifice dealing with our sins. John’s conclusion is that, since God so loved us, we ought to love one another. In verses 20–21, he brings this back to the person who can be seen: a claim to love the unseen God contradicts hatred of one’s brother. Receive God’s mercy with gratitude and let the person before you receive the care that follows from it.
Christ gives his own love as the pattern. As he prepares the disciples for his departure in John 13:31–35, he commands them to love one another as he has loved them and says that this love will identify them as his disciples. This is a particular charge to his followers about their shared life. It gives their mutual care a visible purpose, while his teaching about enemies in Matthew 5:44–45 keeps their kindness reaching beyond the community.
Titus 3:1–8 holds together gracious conduct toward all and dependence on God’s mercy. Believers are to be ready for good works, gentle, and considerate toward everyone, remembering their own former disobedience and hostility. God saved them through his mercy, renewal by the Holy Spirit, and grace through Jesus Christ; their good works are the resulting care that benefits people. Galatians 5:22–25 likewise names love among the Spirit’s fruit and calls believers to walk in the Spirit. Seek his help as you give attention, share, speak truth, and show mercy. The neighbor’s good has a place in the life God is forming in you.
Read the passages
Scripture in context
31 contextual selections for this subject, including the passages cited above and further related reading. Every selected range is reproduced in full from the KJV. Context notes identify the setting and kind of evidence.
Covenant law 3 selections
Exodus 23:1–9 KJV · In this guide
Context: Israel’s covenant laws join just witness and judgment to aid for an enemy’s animals and care for the stranger.
23:1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
23:2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
23:3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
23:4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
23:6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
23:8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 19:1–18 KJV · In this guide
Context: The first panel of holiness instructions addresses the congregation of Israel, joining worship and household duties to harvest provision, honesty, justice, and neighbor love.
19:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
19:3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
19:5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.
19:6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.
19:7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
19:8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:33–37 KJV · In this guide
Context: The chapter’s closing instructions require love for the resident stranger, honest measures, and obedience, recalling the exodus.
19:33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
19:35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
19:36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
19:37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
Covenant exhortation 1 selections
Deuteronomy 10:12–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: Moses calls Israel to wholehearted allegiance, heart renewal, and love reflecting the Lord’s greatness, choice, justice, and care.
10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
10:13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
10:14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
10:21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
10:22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Historical narrative with prophetic evaluation 1 selections
2 Chronicles 28:1–15 KJV · In this guide
Context: Ahaz’s unfaithfulness and defeat frame the capture of Judahites, Oded’s rebuke, the leaders’ response, and the captives’ return.
28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:
28:2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
28:3 Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
28:4 He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
28:5 Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.
28:6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
28:7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king.
28:8 And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.
28:9 But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.
28:10 And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God?
28:11 Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.
28:12 Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,
28:13 And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.
28:14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.
28:15 And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.
Wisdom instruction 1 selections
Proverbs 3:27–35 KJV · In this guide
Context: A connected series of instructions on timely help, trustworthy neighborly conduct, and refusal of oppression ends in the Lord’s moral judgment.
3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
3:28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
3:29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
3:30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
3:31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
3:32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
3:34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Wisdom saying 1 selections
Proverbs 25:21–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: A complete two-verse saying joins an enemy’s bodily need, food and drink, the coals image, and the Lord’s reward.
Jesus’ teaching 5 selections
Matthew 5:38–48 KJV · In this guide
Context: The final two teaching units in this part of the Sermon address retaliation and enemy love, ending with the Father’s generosity and perfection.
5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 7:7–12 KJV · In this guide
Context: The Sermon on the Mount joins asking a good Father to doing good to others, with the law and prophets named in the concluding instruction.
7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
7:10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
7:12 Therefore 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.
Matthew 22:34–40 KJV · In this guide
Context: A lawyer tests Jesus after the dispute with the Sadducees; the answer relates both commandments to the law and prophets.
22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Mark 12:28–34 KJV · In this guide
Context: A scribe asks about the foremost commandment during Jesus’ Jerusalem teaching; Jesus answers, the scribe responds, and Jesus evaluates his understanding.
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Luke 6:27–36 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus addresses those hearing him with love for enemies, concrete responses, the rule of reciprocal regard, and mercy modeled on the Father.
6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
6:32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
6:33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
6:34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Gospel narrative 1 selections
Luke 9:51–56 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus sets out toward Jerusalem; a Samaritan village refuses reception, the disciples propose fire, and Jesus rebukes them before moving on.
9:51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
9:52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
9:53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
Parable and Jesus’ instruction 1 selections
Luke 10:25–37 KJV · In this guide
Context: An expert in the law asks about life, correctly names the commands, then seeks to justify himself; Jesus tells the rescue parable and commands imitation.
10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Jesus’ farewell teaching 1 selections
John 13:31–35 KJV · In this guide
Context: After Judas departs, Jesus speaks of glorification and departure, then commands the disciples to love as he has loved them.
13:31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
13:32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Apostolic exhortation 5 selections
Romans 12:9–21 KJV · In this guide
Context: Community love, shared needs, empathy, humility, blessing persecutors, peace, and renounced vengeance form one sequence.
12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
12:13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Galatians 5:13–26 KJV · In this guide
Context: Freedom is directed toward loving service and the neighbor command, followed by the conflict of flesh and Spirit and the Spirit’s fruit.
5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 6:1–10 KJV · In this guide
Context: Paul moves through restoration, burdens, self-examination, sharing, sowing and reaping, and persevering good toward all.
6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
1 Thessalonians 5:12–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: Closing community exhortations address leaders, different needs, patience, good toward everyone, prayer, discernment, and God’s sanctifying faithfulness.
5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
5:16 Rejoice evermore.
5:17 Pray without ceasing.
5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5:24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Hebrews 13:1–6 KJV · In this guide
Context: Closing exhortations join brotherly love, hospitality, solidarity with prisoners and sufferers, marriage faithfulness, and contentment in God’s help.
13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Apostolic argument 2 selections
Romans 13:8–10 KJV · In this guide
Context: Following discussion of what is owed, Paul identifies continuing love as the fulfillment of commandments concerning one’s neighbor.
13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
James 2:14–26 KJV · In this guide
Context: The claim to faith is tested through unmet bodily need, demonstrated action, Abraham, Rahab, and the final body/spirit analogy.
2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Apostolic teaching 3 selections
1 Corinthians 13:1–13 KJV · In this guide
Context: Within teaching on congregational gifts, Paul explains their emptiness without love, love’s character, and its enduring greatness.
13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
1 John 3:10–24 KJV · In this guide
Context: The letter contrasts hatred with brotherly love, reasons from Christ’s death to material sharing, and links love, assurance, faith, obedience, and the Spirit.
3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1 John 4:7–21 KJV · In this guide
Context: The sending of the Son reveals God’s love and grounds mutual love, confidence, and the test of loving the visible brother.
4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Apostolic counsel concerning a collection 1 selections
2 Corinthians 8:1–15 KJV · In this guide
Context: The Macedonians’ generosity, Christ’s grace, and the Corinthians’ earlier willingness lead to advice to complete the collection according to their means.
8:1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
8:3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
8:4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
8:5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
8:6 Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
8:7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
8:8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
8:10 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
8:11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
8:13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
8:14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
8:15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
Apostolic instruction 3 selections
Ephesians 4:17–5:2 KJV · In this guide
Context: Learning Christ and putting on the new person lead to truth, honest work, constructive speech, kindness, forgiveness, and walking in Christ’s love.
4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Titus 3:1–8 KJV · In this guide
Context: Public gentleness and readiness for good are grounded in remembered sin, God’s saving kindness, renewal by the Spirit, and hope by grace.
3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
James 2:1–13 KJV · In this guide
Context: A scene of class favoritism in the assembly leads to the neighbor command, the one Lawgiver, accountable speech and action, and mercy.
2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Pastoral instruction 1 selections
1 Timothy 5:1–16 KJV · In this guide
Context: Respect across generations leads to distinguishing family support from church responsibility in the care of widows.
5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
5:3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.
5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
5:7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.
5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
5:9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
5:11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
5:12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
5:15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.
5:16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
Apostolic wisdom and exhortation 1 selections
James 3:1–12 KJV · In this guide
Context: A warning about teachers opens the argument about the tongue’s power, culminating in the contradiction between blessing God and cursing his likeness.
3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Go deeper
Sources & interpretation
The teaching starts with the cited Scripture. These consulted works inform wording, context, and interpretive questions. No qualified human review has been recorded for this guide.
How far does the neighbor command reach?
Leviticus 19:17–18 speaks of brother and people; 19:33–34 explicitly commands love for the resident stranger. Jesus places a Samaritan in the role of merciful neighbor. Galatians 6:10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:15 expressly extend doing good to all.
- Collins emphasizes the immediate Israelite and resident-alien setting. Friedman argues from wider uses of neighbor and the stranger command for an inclusive reading. Their disagreement concerns verse 18’s scope, not whether verse 34 commands care for the stranger.
- Brown reads the Samaritan within a contested but wider Israel. The parable need not label him a Gentile in order to challenge the hearer’s boundaries.
STRONG: preserve each immediate audience and the express outsider commands. A word’s possible breadth does not settle a particular occurrence, but a particular audience does not cancel the wider Christian commands. The article’s all-person duty rests on the linked apostolic texts as well as Jesus’ enemy teaching.
Further study: John J. Collins · Richard Elliott Friedman · Jeannine K. Brown
Further examination: What does each passage explicitly say about its recipients and those who receive love? How can special care for believers coexist with doing good to all?
What does the Samaritan represent, and which details may be inferred?
Luke 10:30 calls the victim a certain man. The priest’s and Levite’s motives remain unstated; 10:33–37 explicitly names compassion, mercy, and imitation.
- The direct example reading takes the conclusion as a charge to imitate the merciful helper.
- Parsons proposes a Christ figure from Luke’s use of compassion and mercy. This can illuminate resemblance, but it does not establish a symbolic identity for every detail.
- Brown emphasizes restored Israel. That broader narrative proposal can accompany the ethical instruction without making the Samaritan a generic Gentile.
VERY_STRONG: Jesus commands merciful action. POSSIBLE_INFERENCE: additional Christological resonance. Keep the victim’s ethnicity and the religious officials’ motives unasserted. NET identifies added words in the KJV form of Luke 9:55–56; the guide retains the pinned text and relies only on the shared refusal, proposal, and rebuke.
Further study: Jeannine K. Brown · Mikeal C. Parsons · Biblical Studies Press · Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: Which points does Jesus use to identify the neighbor? What extra evidence would be needed to turn a possible motive or symbolic resemblance into the story’s stated meaning?
How do the commands to act belong with salvation by mercy?
Luke 10:25–28 places loving obedience within the question of eternal life. James 2:14–26 refuses a lifeless profession of faith. Titus 3:4–8 explicitly attributes salvation to God’s mercy and grace and then requires believers to maintain good works.
- One can read the law exchange chiefly as exposing the lawyer’s self-justification; Luke nevertheless ends with an actual command to show mercy.
- One can emphasize love as essential evidence and expression of living faith; the costly duty must remain concrete.
- Treating mercy as a price that earns God’s saving favor contradicts Titus’s explicit contrast between righteous works and saving mercy.
STRONG: retain both the serious obligation to act and God’s prior saving mercy. The article does not reduce Jesus’ command to an impossible lesson without an obedient response, or turn relief work into a purchase of salvation. It does not adjudicate every denominational account of justification.
Further study: Jeannine K. Brown · Kelsie Rodenbiker
Further examination: What is being claimed, commanded, or given in each text? How does Titus 3:5–8 distinguish the ground of salvation from the resulting good works?
How should the difficult details of enemy love guide conduct?
Jesus names costly acts and the Father’s goodness. Romans 12:18 qualifies peace by what depends on the believer, verse 19 leaves vengeance with God, and verses 20–21 join feeding the enemy to overcoming evil with good.
- NET reads the coals in Proverbs 25:22 as painful conscience or contrition prompted by kindness.
- The judgment language surrounding Romans 12:19 allows a possible reading concerning the opponent’s accountability before God. That does not make private revenge the giver’s aim.
- Christians differ on how the nonretaliation sayings relate to public authority and protective intervention. These passages clearly require costly generosity and renouncing private retaliation; they do not themselves give a complete account of every public responsibility.
VERY_STRONG: pray, bless, give, and feed rather than seek revenge. PROBABLE: the coals image includes the morally unsettling effect of kindness; its exact mechanism remains unresolved. Do not promise that an enemy will repent. Public-force and emergency-protection questions are beyond the guide’s determination; it issues no instruction to remain accessible to ongoing harm.
Further study: Carla Works · Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: How do sincere love in Romans 12:9, relinquished vengeance in 12:19, and overcoming evil in 12:21 constrain an explanation of the coals? What actions does Jesus actually command?
How do shared burdens, personal responsibility, and particular duties fit together?
Galatians 6:2 commands bearing one another’s burdens, while 6:3–5 requires humble self-examination and one’s own responsibility. Verse 10 names all people and especially believers. First Timothy 5 and 2 Corinthians 8 distinguish family support, church support, available means, and shared provision.
- The different burden words can suggest different emphases, but the nearby argument already explains mutual help and personal accountability. The inspected NET note concerns the future form, not a fixed rule dividing every kind of need.
- Especially can mark priority and particular obligation while all preserves outward concern. Reducing all to believers alone removes the stated distinction.
- The Corinthians’ giving is willing and proportionate to what they have; the Macedonians’ extraordinary example is not a universal fixed amount.
STRONG: support others humbly, take responsibility for your own conduct, fulfill family and church duties, and use opportunities for wider good. PROBABLE: Galatians 6:5 includes ultimate accountability as well as the present call to examine conduct; no rigid allocation formula is asserted.
Further study: Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: How does Paul prevent both self-important helping and refusal to help? What do the stated recipients, needs, and means require in each passage?
- Love Your Neighbor: How It Became the Golden Rule
John J. Collins · TheTorah.com · 2020-04-27
Argues for an Israelite setting, a separate resident-alien command, and practical love; discusses the manner expressed by as yourself.
What was reviewed
Main article from The Neighbor as Kinsman through Love All Humanity; notes 1–4 were also displayed. Accessed 2026-09-25.
His restriction of New Testament enemy love is not adopted as a limit on Galatians 6:10 or 1 Thessalonians 5:15. Cited books were not inspected.
- The Exodus, the Alien, and the Neighbor
Richard Elliott Friedman · TheTorah.com · 2017-05-04
Argues that neighbor is not an inherently ethnic term and reads Leviticus 19:34 against an exclusive interpretation.
What was reviewed
Complete article body, especially Who Counts as Your Neighbor?, The Term Re‘a in the Bible, and Context and Context; displayed notes. Accessed 2026-09-25.
His exclusion of immediate context from consideration is too sweeping. His reconstruction of Levite exodus history is not used; the cited book was not read.
- Commentary on Luke 10:25–37
Jeannine K. Brown · Working Preacher, Luther Seminary · 2022-07-10
Explains the shift from classifying neighbors to acting as one; argues that the Samaritan also belongs within Luke’s restoration of Israel.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body and the two-item Works Referenced list. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The two journal articles cited there were not independently read. The injured man’s Jewish identity is an inference, not Luke’s explicit wording.
- Commentary on Luke 10:25–37
Mikeal C. Parsons · Working Preacher, Luther Seminary · 2016-07-10
Proposes a Christological reading from Luke’s compassion and mercy vocabulary while retaining the command to imitate.
What was reviewed
Complete main commentary body through its conclusion about the Samaritan as a Christ figure; bibliographic notes were not fully inspected. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
The vocabulary supports comparison but does not by itself establish the Samaritan’s symbolic identity. Detailed allegory is not adopted.
- NET Bible: Luke 10:33, notes 1–5
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Clarifies the Samaritan contrast and compassion becoming practical action.
What was reviewed
Complete verse page, including notes 1–5 and the study note appended to note 5. Accessed 2026-09-25.
No independent lexicon or manuscript study; no claim about the species of the animal or motives of the passers-by follows.
- NET Bible: Luke 9:55, notes 1–2
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Identifies the material KJV/NET difference in the rebuke’s wording.
What was reviewed
Complete verse page and notes 1–2 concerning the shorter text and the longer rebuke. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The textual preference is reported as NET’s judgment; manuscripts were not independently collated. Both forms retain the rebuke.
- Commentary on James 2:1–10 [11–13] 14–17
Kelsie Rodenbiker · Working Preacher, Luther Seminary · 2024-09-08
Connects favoritism, the royal law from Leviticus, and unmet bodily needs.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, from the opening discussion of faith and action to the closing account of enacted faith. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Homiletical extensions and modern illustrations are not imported. The main article preserves the brother/sister scope of James’s example.
- Commentary on Matthew 5:38–48
Carla Works · Working Preacher, Luther Seminary · 2014-02-23
Connects costly enemy love to the Father’s life-giving generosity.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body; used chiefly the paragraphs on nonretaliation, enemy love, sun and rain, and perfection. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The reconstructed expectations of the crowd and political descriptions are not established from these verses and are not used.
- NET Bible: Proverbs 25:22, notes 1–2
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Interprets burning coals as conscience awakened by kindness and identifies divine reward.
What was reviewed
Complete verse page, especially notes 1–2. Accessed 2026-09-25.
An interpretive proposal, not an uncontested explanation of the image; no reconstructed ancient ritual is asserted.
- NET Bible: Galatians 6:5, translation note 1
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Records that the future may be read as an instruction to carry one’s own load.
What was reviewed
Complete verse page and note 1; Galatians 6:2 verse page also inspected and has no explanatory note. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Does not establish a rigid lexical division between burdens others must carry and loads one must always carry alone.
- NET Bible: 1 Thessalonians 5:14
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Clarifies the KJV feebleminded in its sequence of differentiated care.
What was reviewed
Complete passage page and its one note; the translation supplies the rendering discouraged. Accessed 2026-09-25.
This is a translation comparison, not an independently inspected Greek lexicon. The displayed note concerns brothers and sisters, not discouraged.