25 Bible Quotes About Love

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV

Perhaps the most quoted line on love in the Bible, and Paul's summing up of the passage it belongs to. Faith, hope and love remain, and love is called the greatest of them. In the letter, it is part of Paul's argument with a divided church about spiritual gifts used without love. The KJV says charity, an older English word for the same self-giving love. This is not a greeting-card sentiment. It is a ranking, and it puts love above even faith.

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

John 3:16 ESV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 KJV

Possibly the best-known verse in Scripture, and it describes love by what it does. God's love is aimed at the world and measured by a gift, his only Son, given so that whoever believes would have eternal life rather than perish. It belongs to the account of Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus by night; readers differ on whether these lines are Jesus' own words or the Gospel writer's reflection on them. Either way, the love comes first and the invitation follows.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:8 ESV

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 John 4:8 KJV

John says love belongs to God's very nature, and he draws a demanding conclusion from it: a person who does not love does not know God. This is not a sentimental line. It means that knowing God cannot be separated from how someone treats the people around them. It also means that every genuine act of love, however small, points back to its source. Love is not something God occasionally does; John says it is what he is.

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19 ESV

We love him, because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19 KJV

A short sentence that reverses how many people try to approach God. Our love is a response, not an origin: we love because God loved first. That removes the pressure of earning his affection by being loving enough. For someone who is good at giving care and slow to receive it, the order matters a great deal. The first move is to be loved. Love for God and for others grows from there, not the other way round.

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

John 15:13 ESV

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13 KJV

Jesus names the greatest love he knows of: laying down one's life for one's friends. He says it to his disciples on the night he was betrayed, and in the same conversation he calls them friends rather than servants. Read in that setting, the line is less a general maxim than a description of what he was about to do for them. It also sets the measure for the love he asks his followers to show one another.

the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

Jeremiah 31:3 ESV

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Jeremiah 31:3 KJV

Spoken to Israel in a chapter that promises restoration beyond exile and judgment. God calls his love everlasting; the ESV ties it to his continued faithfulness, while the KJV says he has drawn his people with lovingkindness. Either way the love is old, and it has kept going. For anyone who feels their history with God is mostly a record of failure, this verse describes a love that came before the failure and outlasts it.

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10 ESV

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

Isaiah 54:10 KJV

Mountains and hills are the most permanent things the passage can name, and God says they could shift sooner than his steadfast love would leave his people. The chapter addresses Zion pictured as a woman deserted and grieving, and promises she will not stay that way. The KJV says kindness where the ESV says steadfast love, and both add a covenant of peace. It is a promise made to someone who had every reason to feel abandoned.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:15-16 ESV

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:15-16 KJV

Zion has said the Lord has forsaken and forgotten her, and God answers with the strongest human bond the passage can picture: a mother and her nursing child. Even that might fail, he says, but he will not forget. Then comes an intimate image of Zion engraved on the palms of his hands. You do not need to be a mother to feel the force of this. It speaks to anyone who fears they have slipped from God's mind.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15 ESV

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Psalm 86:15 KJV

The psalmist, in trouble and asking for help, leans on a description of God that echoes what God proclaimed about himself to Moses in Exodus 34: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. The KJV renders that last pair as mercy and truth. Love here is not a mood that rises and falls. It is part of God's settled character, which is why a person in distress can appeal to it with confidence.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV

The voice in Lamentations 3 has seen Jerusalem fall and describes affliction at length, and yet insists that the Lord's steadfast love does not cease, that his mercies are new every morning, and that his faithfulness is great. The KJV speaks of compassions that fail not. Nothing outside has been repaired. The hope is found inside the grief, which makes this a line people can hold onto when nothing around them has changed yet.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Ephesians 2:4-5 KJV

Paul has described people as dead in their trespasses, and then turns with two words, but God. Rich in mercy and acting out of great love, God made them alive together with Christ. The love is not a reaction to anything good in them; it acts while they are, in Paul's word, dead. He stops to say it plainly: it is by grace that they have been saved. Love here does not wait for a response before it moves.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 ESV

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

1 John 3:1 KJV

John asks his readers to look at what kind of love the Father has given them: a love that names them children of God. Love here is not only felt but conferred, a new name and a place in a family. He adds that the world does not recognise this, because it did not recognise him either. For anyone whose sense of being loved has depended on other people's approval, this is a belonging that does not wait on it.

and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:5 ESV

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Romans 5:5 KJV

In a passage where Paul traces suffering through endurance and character to hope, he says that hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The KJV says shed abroad. The love is not a distant fact to be argued for; it is given inwardly, by the Spirit. And Paul places that gift in the middle of suffering, not only on the far side of it.

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

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 KJV

Paul's language narrows from the world to one person: the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. It comes in a sentence about being crucified with Christ and now living by faith. Many readers find it easier to believe God loves people in general than that he loves them in particular. This verse will not settle for the general version. The love is personal, and it is shown by a giving.

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

Psalm 63:3 ESV

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Psalm 63:3 KJV

Headed as a psalm of David in the wilderness of Judah, this one comes from somewhere dry and exposed. The psalmist says God's steadfast love is better than life itself, and so his lips will praise him; the KJV says lovingkindness. It is a large claim to make in a wilderness. Read that way, it is not praise offered from comfort but from want, holding out a love worth more than whatever is missing.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:8 ESV

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Psalm 143:8 KJV

A prayer for the morning, from a psalmist pursued by an enemy and describing his own spirit as faint. He asks to hear of God's steadfast love when the day begins, because he trusts him, and to be shown the way he should go. Many people reach for a phone first thing and hear everything except this. The verse offers a different first word for the day, and it pairs being loved with being guided.

Let all that you do be done in love.

1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV

Let all your things be done with charity.

1 Corinthians 16:14 KJV

Paul's instruction to the Corinthians is short enough to fit on a sticky note: let everything be done in love. The KJV says with charity. It is paired with calls to be watchful, stand firm and be strong, and the pairing matters. Conviction and strength without love tend to turn hard; love without them tends to turn limp. It is a test that can be applied to an email, an errand or a difficult conversation.

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.

1 Corinthians 8:1 ESV

Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

1 Corinthians 8:1 KJV

Writing about food offered to idols, a dispute in which some Corinthians felt sure they knew best, Paul sets two things side by side: knowledge puffs up, while love builds up. The KJV says charity edifieth. He is not against knowing things. His concern is knowledge used to win rather than to strengthen someone weaker. For anyone who has been right in an argument and still damaged the relationship, this short line names the difference.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:13-14 ESV

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Galatians 5:13-14 KJV

Paul tells the Galatians they were called to freedom, and guards against a misreading of it: freedom is not an opening for the flesh but a way to serve one another through love. He then says the whole law is fulfilled in one command, to love your neighbour as yourself. Love, in this passage, is the shape freedom takes. It is not the loss of yourself but the use of a free life for someone else's good.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Ephesians 5:1-2 KJV

Paul asks his readers to imitate God the way beloved children copy a parent, and to walk in love as Christ loved them and gave himself up for them. The identity comes before the instruction: they are beloved first, imitators second. Walking suggests something steady and daily rather than a single grand gesture. The love being copied is described as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, costly and given freely.

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:34 ESV

But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:34 KJV

The command to love your neighbour as yourself appears in Leviticus 19:18, and this verse widens it within the same chapter: the stranger living among Israel is to be treated as a native and loved as oneself. The reason given is memory, because Israel had been strangers in Egypt. Love here crosses an obvious line of belonging, and it roots kindness in remembering what it was like to be the outsider.

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:20-21 ESV

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

1 John 4:20-21 KJV

John closes a loophole. Someone who claims to love God while hating a brother or sister is, in his blunt word, a liar, because a person who will not love the one they can see cannot love the God they have not seen. He grounds it in a commandment: whoever loves God must love their brother as well. Love for God is tested at the kitchen table and in the group chat, not only in prayer.

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

Proverbs 17:17 ESV

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

Proverbs 17:17 KJV

A friend's love is constant, the proverb says, and a brother is born for times of trouble. Read as parallel lines, it suggests that hard seasons are where friendship and family show what they really are. Many people discover who their friends are when something goes wrong. The proverb does more than describe that experience; it quietly invites you to be that kind of friend to someone who is going through it right now.

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Proverbs 10:12 ESV

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Proverbs 10:12 KJV

Hatred stirs up strife, the proverb says, while love covers offences; the KJV says sins. It sets the two side by side as different ways of handling the same wrongs. Love declines to keep reopening an old grievance in order to win the next argument. Read in the world of Proverbs, a world of households and neighbours, it concerns the ordinary friction of shared life. Covering in this sense has never required silence about abuse.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

Philippians 1:9-10 ESV

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.

Philippians 1:9-10 KJV

Paul prays that the Philippians' love will keep abounding, and that it will grow with knowledge and discernment, so that they can approve what is excellent. That is a useful corrective to the idea that love means believing everything and objecting to nothing. Love in this prayer has its eyes open. It can tell the good from the harmful and still keep growing. It is a prayer worth borrowing for any relationship that needs wisdom.