2 Peter 1 · Verse 7

2 Peter 1:7

And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2 Peter 1:7, King James Version

2 Peter 1:7 in other translations

BSBand to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
WEBand in godliness, brotherly affection; and in brotherly affection, love.
ASVand in your godliness brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kindness love.
YLTand in the piety the brotherly kindness, and in the brotherly kindness the love;
DARBYingodliness brotherly love, in brotherly love love:
BBEAnd love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself.
WebsterAnd to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

What does 2 Peter 1:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
7. "And in your godliness brotherly kindness"; not suffering your godliness to be moroseness, nor a sullen solitary habit of life, but kind, generous, and courteous [Alford]. Your natural affection and brotherly kindness are to be sanctified by godliness. "And in your brotherly kindness love," namely, to all men, even to enemies, in thought, word, and deed. From brotherly kindness we are to go forward to love. Compare 1Th 3:12, "Love one toward another (brotherly kindness), and toward all men (charity)." So charity completes the choir of graces in Col 3:14. In a retrograde order, he who has love will exercise brotherly kindness; he who has brotherly kindness will feel godliness needful; the godly will mix nothing stoical with his patience; to the patient, temperance is easy; the temperate weighs things well, and so has knowledge; knowledge guards against sudden impulse carrying away its virtue [Bengel].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 7. And to godliness brotherly kindness. Love to Christians as such. Jn 13:34; Heb 13:1.

And to brotherly kindness charity. Love to all mankind. There is to be a peculiar affection for Christians as of the same family; there is to be a true and warm love, however, for all the race. 1Cor 13:1, seq.

(f) "kindness" Jn 13:34,35 (g) "brotherly kindness" 1Cor 13:1-5 (+) "charity" "Love"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 Brotherly kindness - Φιλαδελφιαν· Love of the brotherhood - the strongest attachment to Christ's flock; feeling each as a member of your own body. Charity - Αγαπην· Love to the whole human race, even to your persecutors: love to God and the brethren they had; love to all mankind they must also have. True religion is neither selfish nor insulated; where the love of God is, bigotry cannot exist. Narrow, selfish people, and people of a party, who scarcely have any hope of the salvation of those who do not believe as they believe, and who do not follow with them, have scarcely any religion, though in their own apprehension none is so truly orthodox or religious as themselves. After αγαπην, love, one MS. adds these words, εν δε τη αγαπῃ την παρακλησιν, and to this love consolation; but this is an idle and useless addition.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Peter 1:1-11

Chapter Outline Exhortations to add the exercise of various other graces to faith. (1-11) The apostle looks forward to his approaching decease. (12-15) And confirms the truth of the gospel, relating to Christ's appearing to judgment. (16-21) Verses 1-11 Faith unites the weak believer to Christ, as really as it does the strong one, and purifies the heart of one as truly as of another; and every sincere believer is by…

Read the full comment on 2 Peter 1:1-11 →

2 Peter 1:7 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἐνeninG1722
δὲdethenG1161
τῇtēa<the>G3588
εὐσεβείᾳeusebeiagodlinessG2150
τὴνtēn<the>G3588
φιλαδελφίαν,philadelphianbrotherly affection,G5360
ἐνeninG1722
δὲdethenG1161
τῇtēa<the>G3588
φιλαδελφίᾳphiladelphiabrotherly affectionG5360
τὴνtēn<the>G3588
ἀγάπην.agapēnlove.G26

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Peter 1:7

  • Hebrews 13:1

    Let brotherly love continue.

  • Romans 12:10

    Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

  • 1 Thessalonians 3:12

    And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

  • Colossians 3:14

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

  • John 13:34-35

    A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

  • 1 Peter 2:17

    Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

  • 1 John 3:16

    Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

  • Galatians 6:10

    As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

  • 1 John 4:21

    And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

  • 1 Corinthians 13:1-8

    Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, …

  • 1 Peter 1:22

    Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

  • 1 John 3:14

    We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
brotherly.
Joh 13:34,35; Ro 12:10; 1Th 3:12; 4:9,10; Heb 13:1; 1Pe 1:22; 2:17
1Jo 3:14,16
charity.
1Co 13:1-8; Ga 6:10; Col 3:14; 1Th 5:15; 1Pe 3:8; 1Jo 4:21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Peter 1:6

    And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

  • 2 Peter 1:7

    And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

  • 2 Peter 1:8

    For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Read all of 2 Peter 1

2 Peter 1:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y en el temor de Dios, amor fraternal, y en el amor fraternal caridad.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
et à la piété, l’affection fraternelle; et à l’affection fraternelle, l’amour;
German
Elberfelder 1871
in der Gottseligkeit aber die Bruderliebe, in der Bruderliebe aber die Liebe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
in pietate autem amorem fraternitatis, in amore autem fraternitatis caritatem.