bible verses about neighbors

Bible Verses About Neighbors: 12

Bible verses about neighbors: 12 Scriptures on who is my neighbor and neighborliness.

Illustrated portrait of Christopher McAllister

By Christopher McAllister

Founder of theBibleand.Love

Published September 30, 20265 min readLuke 10:29 (NIV)

A person passes a basket of figs across a small gap between two rooftops.

"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'"

— Luke 10:29 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about neighbors want Scripture for who counts as neighbor and how to live next door — not only the royal command of loving your neighbor. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about loving your neighbor, Bible verses about fellowship, Bible verses about community, Bible verses about love, Bible verses about unity, and Bible verse of the day. Neighbors here means plēsion — nearness and neighborliness — distinct from the love-your-neighbor commandment list alone.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, "neighbor" is πλησίον plēsion (Strong's G4139; Bible Hub G4139) — near, nearby, or one's neighbor. Scripture treats the neighbor as the person within reach — not only a matching tribe — and presses truth, mercy, and unmoved boundaries.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 10 presses the lawyer's question and the mercy that answers it: who is my neighbor becomes go and do likewise (Bible Hub commentaries on Luke 10:27; Bible Hub MHC Luke 10; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Luke 10). (The love-your-neighbor summary and "go and do likewise" live on the loving-your-neighbor page; this list centers who-is-neighbor and neighborliness passages.)

12 Bible verses about neighbors

  1. Luke 10:29. "But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" The question tries to shrink the circle — Jesus will expand it. See Bible verses about loving your neighbor.

  2. Luke 10:33-34. "But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine…" Neighborliness looks like stopped pity and bandaged wounds — not shared ancestry alone. See Bible verses about community.

  3. Leviticus 19:33-34. "'When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.'" Nearness includes the foreigner next door — memory of Egypt shapes mercy. See Bible verses about love.

  4. Proverbs 3:28. "Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back tomorrow and I'll give it to you'—when you already have it with you." Neighborliness does not stall help you can give today. See Bible verses about serving others.

  5. Proverbs 3:29. "Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you." Near trust forbids secret harm — proximity is a trust, not a target. See Bible verses about unity.

  6. Proverbs 14:21. "It is a sin to despise one's neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy." Despising a neighbor is named as sin — kindness is the opposite path. See Bible verses about kindness.

  7. Proverbs 27:10. "Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you—better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away." Near help beats distant kinship in a crisis. See Bible verses about fellowship.

  8. Ephesians 4:25. "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body." Neighborliness includes truthful speech — lies fracture the near body. See Bible verses about unity.

  9. Exodus 20:16. "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." A neighbor's name is protected — false witness is anti-neighbor. See Bible verses about community.

  10. Deuteronomy 19:14. "Do not move your neighbor's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess." Neighborliness respects boundaries — stolen lines steal livelihood. See Bible verses about stewardship.

  11. Proverbs 11:12. "Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue." Mocking a neighbor is folly — understanding knows when to be quiet. See Bible verses about wisdom.

  12. Zechariah 8:16. "These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts." Truth between neighbors rebuilds a people — justice is neighbor-work too. See Bible verses about community.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse for a hallway conflict, a delayed favor, or a question of who counts — not twelve as a neighborhood exam. If you need who-is-my-neighbor language, start with Luke 10:29. If you need the love-your-neighbor command itself, open Bible verses about loving your neighbor. If you need shared life in the church, open Bible verses about fellowship or Bible verses about community. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about neighbors?

Luke 10:29 (who is my neighbor?), Leviticus 19:33-34 (foreigner as native-born), and Proverbs 27:10 (better a nearby neighbor) are clear starting places.

How do Bible verses about neighbors differ from loving your neighbor?

Loving-your-neighbor pages center the royal command. A neighbors page centers plēsion — who is near, how to treat the person next door, boundaries and truth — then cross-links the love command. See Bible verses about loving your neighbor.

What does plēsion mean?

Strong's G4139 plēsion means near, nearby, or neighbor — the one close at hand.

Who is my neighbor according to the Bible?

Luke 10 presses the question past tribe: the one who shows mercy, and the call to go and do likewise. See also Bible verses about loving your neighbor.

Where can I read more about fellowship, community, and love?

Start with Bible verses about fellowship, then Bible verses about community, Bible verses about love, and Bible verses about unity.

Sources

A woman passes a basket of figs across to a man on the next rooftop.

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