Bible Strands
1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Peter writes to scattered believers under persecution, with the end of all things near (v.7). The command is directed at the community as a whole, not an individual.
The words — ἐκτενῆ (ektenē) literally means "stretched out," as a bowstring drawn taut; it conveys a love that is sustained and deliberate rather than a fleeting feeling.
The thread — Proverbs 10:12 states the same principle in aphoristic form (love covers all transgressions); Colossians 3:14 makes love the binding agent of the whole virtue list.
Why it lands — It asks a community under pressure to choose covering over exposing, to hold the bond together rather than let it fray. That is a discipline, not a feeling.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
- Colossians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.
- Proverbs 17:9 Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.
- James 5:20 consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
- 1 Peter 1:22 Since 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 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
- 1 Timothy 1:5 The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
- Hebrews 13:1 Continue in brotherly love.