Key Bible Verses about Love

“‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

⁴Hear, Israel: The LORD is our God. The LORD is one. ⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; ⁷and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. ⁹You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates.

¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants, ²⁰to love the LORD your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

¹⁶Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”

A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.

The LORD, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

³⁷Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. ³⁶I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ ⁴⁰“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

²⁵Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” ²⁷He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” ²⁹But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, ³⁴came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ ³⁶Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

³⁴A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

³⁸For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁴Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, ⁵doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; ⁶doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly and gave himself up for her,

³doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; ⁴each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.

⁷Beloved, let’s love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.