“love thy neighbor as thyself”
KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
WORDS OF GOD IN RED
In this verse, God describes what is now known as the Golden Rule, or law of reciprocity, which is the principle of treating others as you would wish to be treated. This is the most prominent example of the rule covered in the Old Testament. Other instances in the Bible's New Testament include: Matthew 7:12 when Jesus says, “whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them”, Luke 6:31 “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise”, Luke 10:27 “love... thy neighbor as thyself”, Romans 13:9 “love thy neighbor as thyself”, and Galatians 5:14 “love thy neighbor as thyself”.
To get what Leviticus 19:18 means in detail, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Thou shalt not” | לֹֽא | Not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles | not |
| “avenge,” | תִקֹּ֤ם | To grudge, i.e., avenge or punish | avenge |
| “nor” | וְלֹֽא | Not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles | nor |
| “bear any grudge” | תִטֹּר֙ | To guard; figuratively, to cherish (anger) | bear any grudge |
| “against” | אֶת | Properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely) | against |
| “the children” | בְּנֵ֣י | A son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.) | children |
| “of thy people,” | עַמֶּ֔ךָ | A people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock | people |
| “but thou shalt love” | וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ | To have affection for (sexually or otherwise) | love |
| “thy neighbour” | לְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ | An associate (more or less close) | neighbour |
| “as thyself:” | כָּמ֑וֹךָ | As, thus, so | thyself |
| “I” | אֲנִ֖י | I | I |
| “am” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “the Lord.” | יְהוָֽה׃ | (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God | Lord |
See Leviticus 19:18 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
| Very High |
Verse Search Popularity Levels What do people search for?Use the scale on the left to tell how often the verses below are googled compared to each other. |
|
| High | ||
| Medium | ||
| Low | ||
| Very Low |
16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.