Bible Strands
Romans 13:8
Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The apostle Paul writes to the Roman church, immediately following his instructions to render taxes, revenue, respect, and honor to governing authorities.
The words — ὀφείλετε (opheilete) means "do owe," and ἀγαπᾶν (agapan) means "to love." The text explicitly commands owing nothing to anyone except the debt of love owed to one another.
The thread — This theme runs through Romans 13:10, Matthew 22:39, and Galatians 5:14, where the text states that love fulfills the law and sums up the commandments.
Why it lands — It requires readers to treat active love toward others as the only ongoing debt, recognizing that loving others satisfies the law's requirements.
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
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Cross-references
- Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
- Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Galatians 5:14 The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Matthew 7:12 In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
- Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act.
- John 13:34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
- Romans 13:7 Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
- James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
- Colossians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.
- Deuteronomy 24:14 Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.