"Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
— Romans 13:10 (NIV)
Romans 13:10 closes Paul's short teaching on the one debt you never finish paying: love. This page gives the verse, what the key words mean, where it sits in Romans 13, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about loving others, Bible verses about loving your neighbor, and Bible verses about love.
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The verse
The King James reads: "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
"Love" is agapē (G26). "Worketh" is ergazomai (G2038), to work or bring about. "Harm" or "ill" is kakos (G2556), what is bad or hurtful. "Neighbor" is plēsion (G4139). "Fulfillment" is plērōma (G4138), the full measure of something.
Where it sits in Romans 13
Verse 10 is the end of a three-verse unit. It starts, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8). Then Paul lists commands against adultery, murder, stealing, and coveting, and says they "are summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Romans 13:9). Verse 10 gives the reason: love never does a neighbor harm, so it keeps all of those commands at once.
Right after, Paul turns to urgency: "The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber" (Romans 13:11). A chapter earlier he opened the same theme with "Love must be sincere" (Romans 12:9) and "live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18).
What the verse is saying
Paul puts love in simple, practical terms. Whatever else love is, it does not hurt the people around you. If you truly love your neighbor, you will not cheat on them, steal from them, lie about them, or envy what they have, so love ends up doing what all those commands asked.
He makes the same point in Galatians 5:14: "the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command." Jesus taught it as the Golden Rule: "do to others what you would have them do to you."
Questions people ask
What does Romans 13:10 say?
In the NIV it says, "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." The KJV says, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
What does "love is the fulfillment of the law" mean?
It means love does what the law was asking for. The commands about how to treat others all describe ways not to harm your neighbor, and love already refuses that harm.
What is the "debt to love" in Romans 13:8?
Paul says to leave no debt unpaid except the "continuing debt to love one another." Other debts can be paid off; love is the one we always still owe each other.
Who is my neighbor in Romans 13:10?
The Greek word means the person near you. When someone asked Jesus "who is my neighbor?" He told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), showing that a neighbor is anyone you are able to help.
What verses go with Romans 13:10?
Galatians 5:14 (the law fulfilled in one command), Matthew 7:12 (the Golden Rule), and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (love is patient, love is kind) are close companions.
