If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. . . .

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

And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another. Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same? . . .

Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. . . .

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. . . .

Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers. . . .

If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.

I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me.

After this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.” At once I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne standing in heaven, with someone seated on it. The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven Spirits of God. . . .

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.

Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her

No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.

This is Solomon’s Song of Songs. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine. The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you. Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you. I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. . . .

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

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

The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

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

Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Do everything in love.

Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value.

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be restrained; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed.

And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a maiden.

A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.

Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley. Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens. Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. He has brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love. Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. . . .

Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.

You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.” And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. . . .

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.

Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.

Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.

You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine.

My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw.