Section 13:8–10

Love one another

In this section, Paul urged believers to love each other. This requirement to love is like a debt that they always owe, so they must always be loving each other. Loving others fulfills the Old Testament law.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

Love fulfills the Laws of Moses
-or-
We must love our fellow believers

Paragraph 13:8–10

13:8a

Be indebted to no one: The Greek text literally says: “To no one owe nothing.” The two negatives (“no one” and “nothing”) strengthen the command in Greek to not owe anything to others. Some languages can follow the Greek and have the correct meaning. For example:

Owe no one nothing!

But many languages translating both negatives would have the wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

Owe nothing to anyone (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
Let us not be in debt to others

Be indebted: Here this word refers to a requirement to repay something, not just money. The word you use should allow for any requirement to repay something.

13:8b

except to one another in love: In contrast to having no requirements to repay anything (13:8a), these words indicate that we have the requirement to always love each other. Here are other ways to translate these words:

but for this one: Love one another
-or-
But actually there is always a debt of ours to others. That debt of ours is to always love each other
-or-
Even if you no longer have a debt, you have yet a different debt. This debt is your love to your fellows
-or-
but we are always required to do this: Love each other
-or-
But actually there is something we must always do. It is loving each other

one another: Here this phrase refers to other believers.

love: The word love refers to a strong affection and concern for a person. In some languages an idiom such as “give/put heart/liver” is used for the meaning of love. See how you translated this word in 12:9.

13:8c

For: Here this word introduces something that supports Paul’s words to love each other.

his neighbor: Here this word refers to someone other than yourself.

has fulfilled the law: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fulfilled refers to accomplishing what the law demands for us to do. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

will fulfill the requirements of God’s law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
have done all that the Law demands (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
has met every requirement of the law (Revised English Bible)

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