²² But ^(A)the fruit of the Spirit is ^(B)love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, ^(C)goodness, ^(D)faithfulness, ^23 [a]gentleness, self-control. ^(E)Against such there is no law.

^4 (A)Love suffers long and is ^(B)kind; love ^(C)does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not ^[a]puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, ^(D)does not seek its own, is not provoked, ^[b]thinks no evil; ^6 (E)does not rejoice in iniquity, but ^(F)rejoices in the truth; ^7 (G)bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

^44 [a]But I say to you, ^(A)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(B)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(C)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(A)Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, ^(B)up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

The Command to Love

3 Behold ^(A)what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that ^(B)we should be called children of ^[a]God! Therefore the world does not know ^[b]us, ^(C)because it did not know Him. ² Beloved, ^(D)now we are children of God; and ^(E)it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, ^(F)we shall be like Him, for ^(G)we shall see Him as He is. ^3 (H)And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ^[a]his brother abides in death. ^15 (A)Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(B)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

^16 (C)By this we know love, ^(D)because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.