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Loving Others Is the Only Law

You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.”[a] All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor[b] the same as you love yourself.”[c] 10 Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 13:9 Quote from Ex. 20:13-15, 17.
  2. Romans 13:9 your neighbor Or “others.” Jesus’ teaching in Lk. 10:25-37 makes clear that this includes anyone in need.
  3. Romans 13:9 Quote from Lev. 19:18.

Love Fulfills the Law

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.(A) The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a](B) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up(C) in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b](D) 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 13:9 Exodus 20:13-15,17; Deut. 5:17-19,21
  2. Romans 13:9 Lev. 19:18