Romans 13:9

9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b]

Romans 13:9 in Other Translations

KJV
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
ESV
9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
NLT
9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
MSG
9 The law code - don't sleep with another person's spouse, don't take someone's life, don't take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other "don't" you can think of - finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself.
CSB
9 The commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet, and if there is any other commandment-all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Romans 13:9 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 13:9

For this, thou shalt not commit adultery
The apostle here reckons up the several laws of the second table, with this view, that it might appear that so far as a man loves his neighbour, whether more near or distantly related, he fulfils the law, or acts according to it. He omits the first of these, the fifth commandment, either because he had urged this before, so far as it may be thought to regard magistrates; or because, according to the division of the Jews, who reckon five commands to each table, this belonged to the first: and he puts the seventh before the sixth, which is of no great moment; the order of things being frequently changed in the Scripture, and which is often done by Jewish writers, in alleging and citing passages of Scripture; and with whom this is a maxim, (hrwtb rxwamw Mdqwm Nya) , "that there is no first nor last in the law" {c}; that is, it is of no importance which stands first or last in it: it follows,

thou shall not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false
witness, thou shalt not covet;
which are the sixth, eighth, ninth, and tenth commands of the decalogue, ( Exodus 20:13 Exodus 20:15-17 ) :

and if there be any other commandment;
of God, respecting the neighbour, either in the decalogue, as there was the fifth, ( Exodus 20:12 ) , or elsewhere, the apostle repeating this by memory:

it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shall love
thy neighbour as thyself;
see ( Leviticus 19:18 ) ; this is the summary and epitome of them; so Christ reduces the laws of the first table to the head of love to God, and those of the second to the head of love to the neighbour, ( Matthew 22:37-39 ) , as the apostle does here, and in ( Galatians 5:14 ) , and the Apostle James, in ( James 2:8 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F3 T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 6. 2.

Romans 13:9 In-Context

7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Ex 20:13-15,17; Dt 5:17-19,21
  • 2. Matthew 7:12
  • 3. Leviticus 19:18; S Matthew 5:43; Matthew 19:19

Footnotes 2

Scripture quoted by permission.  Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.