Colossians 3:14 BSB

Colossians 3:14

And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.

KJV

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

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Commentary

4 voices

Severian of Gabala

Commentary (church-history corpus) (425)

When love does not lead, there is no completion of what is lacking; but, where love is present we abstain from doing evil to one another. Indeed we put our minds in the service of doing good, when we love one another. .

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Add to faith virtue, and to brotherly-kindness charity, 2 Pet. i. He lays the foundation in faith, and the top-stone in charity, which is the bond of perfectness, the cement and centre of all happy society. Christian unity consists of unanimity and mutual love.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

And above all these things - Επι πασι δε τουτοις· Upon all, over all; as the outer garment envelopes all the clothing, so let charity or love invest and encompass all the rest. Even bowels of mercy are to be set in motion by love; from love they derive all their feeling, and all their power and promptitude to action. Let this, therefore, be as the upper garment; the surtout that invests the whole man.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Seeming graces, where love is wanting, are mere hypocrisy. Justification by faith is assumed as already having taken place in those whom Paul addresses, Col 3:12, "elect of God, holy . . . beloved," and Col 2:12; so that there is no plea here for Rome's view of justification by works.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἐπὶ	epi	Beyond	G1909 →
πᾶσιν	pasin	all	G3956 →
δὲ	de	now	G1161 →
τούτοις	toutois	these	G3778 →
τὴν	tēn	[put on] the	G3588 →
ἀγάπην,	agapēn	love,	G26 →
ὅ	ho	which	G3739 →
ἐστιν	estin	is	G1510 →
σύνδεσμος	sundesmos	[the] bond	G4886 →
τῆς	tēs	<the>	G3588 →
τελειότητος.	teleiotētos	of perfect unity.	G5047 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

G26agapenlove,114×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
John 13:34
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
leads to
- 1 Peter 1:22
  Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Ephesians 5:2
  and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
- Leviticus 19:18
  Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- John 15:17
  This is My command to you: Love one another.
- 1 John 3:23
  And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us.
Through
1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
leads to
- Proverbs 10:12
  Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
- Proverbs 17:9
  Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.
- James 5:20
  consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

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About Colossians

The Word Made Flesh — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Colossians: the study guide →Read chapter 3 →The featured study →

Continue: Colossians 3 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Colossians

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Colossians