Neighbours, duty to

Scripture defines the identity of neighbours in various ways, and indicates the nature and extent of believers' obligations to them.

Neighbours defined

Those who live nearby

Proverbs 3:29 See also Exodus 3:22, Exodus 12:4; Deuteronomy 19:14; 2 Kings 4:3; Proverbs 27:10; Luke 15:4–6

Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he trustfully dwells beside you.

Those of the same race

Leviticus 19:18 See also 1 Samuel 15:27–28, 1 Samuel 28:17; 1 Chronicles 12:38–40

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Peoples of surrounding nations

Deuteronomy 1:7 See also Joshua 9:16; 1 Samuel 7:14; Ezra 9:1; Nehemiah 9:30, Nehemiah 10:28, Nehemiah 10:31; Psalm 76:11; Ezekiel 16:26

Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the foothills, in the Negev, and along the seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.

Those who show mercy to people in need

Luke 10:29–37

Fellow Christians

Ephesians 4:25 See also Romans 15:1–2; Galatians 5:13–16; James 4:11–12

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

Duties to neighbours

Love

Matthew 22:34–39 parallels Mark 12:28–34, Luke 10:25–28 See also Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 19:19; Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8–9

And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” 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.’

Assistance

Exodus 23:4–5 See also Deuteronomy 22:1–4; Proverbs 14:21; Matthew 25:34–40

If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it.

Fair treatment

Exodus 22:14 See also Exodus 20:17; Leviticus 6:2–5, Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 5:21

If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while its owner is not present, he must make full restitution.

Honest dealings

Leviticus 19:13 See also Zechariah 8:16–17; Ephesians 4:25

You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.

Forgiveness

Ephesians 4:32 See also Matthew 18:21–35; Luke 17:3–4; Romans 15:1–2; Colossians 3:13

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

Reproof

Leviticus 19:17 See also Luke 17:3; Galatians 6:1–2

You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.

Prohibition of negative actions towards neighbours

False witness

Exodus 20:16 parallel Deuteronomy 5:20 See also Leviticus 19:16; Proverbs 24:28

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Oppression

Jeremiah 22:13 See also Proverbs 3:28

“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,

Judgment

James 4:12 See also Matthew 7:1–2; Luke 6:41–42; Romans 14:13

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?