Duty to neighbours

Neighbours defined

Those who live nearby

Proverbs 3:29 NLT

Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.

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Those of the same race

Leviticus 19:18 NLT

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

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Peoples of surrounding nations

Deuteronomy 1:7 NLT

It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River.

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Those who show mercy to people in need

Luke 10:29–37 NLT

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Fellow Christians

Ephesians 4:25 NLT

So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

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Duties to neighbours

Love

Matthew 22:34–39 NLT

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

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Assistance

Exodus 23:4–5 NLT

“If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.

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Fair treatment

Exodus 22:14 NLT

“If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it is injured or dies when the owner is absent, the person who borrowed it must pay full compensation.

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Honest dealings

Leviticus 19:13 NLT

“Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

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Forgiveness

Ephesians 4:32 NLT

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

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Reproof

Leviticus 19:17 NLT

“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

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Prohibition of negative actions towards neighbours

False witness

Exodus 20:16 NLT

“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

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Oppression

Jeremiah 22:13 NLT

And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. He builds injustice into its walls, for he makes his neighbors work for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor.

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Judgment

James 4:12 NLT

God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

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