"Love your neighbor as yourself."
— Mark 12:31 (NIV)
People who search bible verses about loving your neighbor want the second greatest commandment in plain Scripture — who counts as neighbor, and what love looks like next door. This page is a numbered list of fifteen passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. The wider theme hub is Bible verses about love. Hope that steadies love sits under Bible verses about hope. Love that reaches even opponents is under Bible verses about loving your enemies.
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15 Bible verses about loving your neighbor
Mark 12:31. "The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Jesus pairs neighbor-love with love for God and refuses a greater rival. See Loving your neighbor: Mark 12 and Love and neighbors.
Matthew 22:39. "And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Matthew's wording matches Mark: the second command is "like" the first, not a soft add-on.
Leviticus 19:18. "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.'" The command is older than the Gospels; revenge and grudges are the opposite of neighbor-love.
Luke 10:27. "He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"" The expert in the law already knows both commands; Jesus will press who the neighbor is.
Luke 10:36-37. "'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'" Neighbor is the one who shows mercy — and the call is to go and do the same.
Romans 13:9-10. "The commandments… are summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Paul treats neighbor-love as the summary that refuses harm.
Galatians 5:14. "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" One command carries the weight of the whole law when it is lived.
James 2:8. "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right." James calls it the royal law — and ties it to refusing favoritism.
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 one another as he has loved. See John 13:34.
John 15:12. "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." The same measure again, spoken to friends he is about to lay down his life for. See John 15:12 and 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." Neighbor-love is not invented by us; it comes from God. See 1 John 4:7.
1 John 4:20-21. "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." Visible love for people tests claimed love for God. See 1 John 4:19.
Romans 15:2. "Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up." Neighbor-love aims at the neighbor's good and building up, not at winning the argument.
Hebrews 13:1-2. "Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Love stays warm at home and open to strangers.
1 Corinthians 13:4. "Love is patient, love is kind." Neighbor-love wears patience and kindness in ordinary friction. See 1 Corinthians 13:4, Bible verses about patience, and Bible verses about kindness.
How to use these verses
Pick one verse for a hard hallway conversation, a prayer walk past a difficult house, or a journal line — not fifteen. Read it out loud. If the question is mercy toward someone who hurt you, pair Mark 12:31 with Bible verses about loving your enemies. If the question is who counts as neighbor, open Bible verses about neighbors. For the wider map of love themes, use Bible verses about love. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
Questions people ask
What is the best Bible verse about loving your neighbor?
Mark 12:31 and Leviticus 19:18 are the clearest starting places. See Loving your neighbor: Mark 12.
Who is my neighbor according to the Bible?
Luke 10:36-37 answers with the one who had mercy — and then says go and do likewise. Neighbor is defined by mercy given, not by matching tribe.
Is loving your neighbor the same as loving your enemies?
They overlap but are not identical. Neighbor-love is the royal summary command; enemy-love (Matthew 5:44) presses further when the other person opposes you. See Bible verses about loving your enemies.
How does loving your neighbor connect to loving God?
Matthew 22 and Mark 12 place them side by side. 1 John 4:20-21 says claimed love for God is false if you hate a brother or sister you can see.
Where should I read next?
Read Love and neighbors, Loving your neighbor: Mark 12, and Bible verses about hope. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
