may mean that that verse had become proverbial in the church. Its meaning in our context, however, is difficult to ascertain. In the OT it means that love will pass over wrongs done to a person rather than continue a dispute: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” Paul teaches similarly in 1 Cor. 13:7 (cf. 1 Cor. 6:7 and the use of Prov. 10:12 in 1 Clem. 49:5). 30 Some commentators, however, argue that in this passage it is the person’s own sin that love covers. They note that