"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
— John 13:34 (NIV)
People who search bible verses about loving others want Scripture for how love treats people — neighbors, friends, the hard-to-love, and the body of Christ — not only romantic love. This page is a numbered list of fifteen passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Neighbor-love sits under Bible verses about loving your neighbor and Love and neighbors. Friendship is under Bible verses about friendship. Faith that works through love is under Bible verses about faith. Gratitude that frees you to love is under Bible verses about gratitude. For healthy limits and saying no with love, see Bible verses about boundaries.
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15 scriptures about loving others (and loving everyone)
John 13:34. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Jesus raises the measure: love others as he has loved you. See John 13:34 and John 13:34-35.
John 15:12. "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." The same command again, spoken to friends he is about to die for. See John 15:12 and How to love like Jesus: John 15.
John 15:13. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." Love for others can cost everything. See John 15:13.
1 John 4:7. "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." Loving others is sourced in God, not invented from mood. See 1 John 4:7.
1 John 4:11. "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." Received love becomes the reason to love people. See Bible verses about God's love.
1 John 3:18. "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." Loving others is proven in deeds, not slogans. See 1 John 3:18.
Mark 12:31. "The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Neighbor-love is the second greatest command. See Loving your neighbor: Mark 12 and Bible verses about loving your neighbor.
Romans 13:10. "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Loving others refuses harm and fulfills the law's aim.
1 Corinthians 13:4. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." Love for people wears patience and kindness in ordinary friction. See 1 Corinthians 13:4 and Bible verses about kindness.
1 Peter 4:8. "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Deep love covers — it does not broadcast every offense. See 1 Peter 4:8 and Bible verses about forgiveness.
Romans 12:10. "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." Devotion and honor are daily choices toward other people.
Galatians 5:13-14. "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Freedom serves; it does not indulge at others' expense. See Love and faith.
Ephesians 4:2. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Loving others includes bearing with people you find difficult. See Bible verses about patience.
Colossians 3:14. "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Love is the outer garment that holds kindness and patience together. See Colossians 3:14.
Romans 5:8. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The pattern for loving others starts with how God loved you first. See Romans 5:8 and John 3:16.
How to use these verses
Pick one verse for a hard conversation, a quiet act of service, or a prayer for someone you struggle to love — not fifteen. Read it out loud. If the question is next-door neighbor love, use Bible verses about loving your neighbor. If it is friendship, use Bible verses about friendship. For gratitude that softens a hard heart toward people, see Bible verses about gratitude. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
Questions people ask
What is the best Bible verse about loving others?
John 13:34 and Mark 12:31 are the clearest starting places: love one another as Jesus loved you, and love your neighbor as yourself. See John 13:34.
How does the Bible say we should love other people?
With actions and in truth (1 John 3:18), with patience and kindness (1 Corinthians 13:4), and by the measure of Christ's love (John 15:12). See How to love like Jesus: John 15.
Is loving others the same as loving your neighbor?
They overlap closely. Neighbor-love is the royal summary command; "love one another" presses the same love inside the family of faith and beyond. See Bible verses about loving your neighbor.
What if someone is hard to love?
Ephesians 4:2 calls you to bear with one another in love. 1 Peter 4:8 says love covers a multitude of sins — without pretending harm is fine. Pair with Bible verses about forgiveness.
Where should I read next?
Read Love and neighbors, Bible verses about loving your neighbor, and Bible verses about faith. Welcoming people into your space, a different search, is Bible verses about hospitality. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
