Matthew 5:43

Matthew 5:43 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
• New International Version (NIV)“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Context of Matthew 5:43

41And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].

Matthew 5:43 word by word

Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Ye have heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• it hath been saidἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
• Thou shalt loveἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• thyσύsu · youG4771
• neighbourπλησίονplēsion · near/neighborG4139
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• hateμισέωmiseō · to hateG3404
• enemyἐχθρόςechthros · enemyG2190

Cross-references for Matthew 5:43

• Matthew 19:19Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself” [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].
• Matthew 22:39The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’
• Leviticus 19:18You shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor (acquaintance, associate, companion) as yourself; I am the Lord.
• Mark 12:31This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
• Luke 10:27And he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
• Romans 13:8Owe nothing to anyone except to love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one’s fellowman].
• Galatians 5:13For you, my brothers, were called to freedom; only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the sinful nature (worldliness, selfishness), but through love serve and seek the best for one another.
• James 2:8If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]” you are doing well.
• Exodus 17:14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in the book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek [and his people] from under heaven.”
• Deuteronomy 23:6You shall never seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days.
• Deuteronomy 25:17“Remember what Amalek did to you along the road when you came from Egypt,
• Psalms 41:10But You, O Lord, be gracious to me and restore me [to health], So that I may repay them.
• Psalms 139:21Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

Commentaries on Matthew 5:43

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 43Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy - Instead of neighbor, the Codex Graevii, a MS. of the eleventh century, reads friend. Thou shalt love thy friend, and hate thine enemy. This was certainly the meaning which the Jews put on it: for neighbor, with them, implied those of the Jewish race, and all others were, considered by them as natural enemies. Besides, it is evident that , among the Hellenistic Jews, meant friend merely: Christ uses it…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy - The command to love our neighbor was a law of God, Leviticus 19:18. That we must therefore hate our enemy was an inference drawn from it by the Jews. They supposed that if we loved the one, we must of course hate the other. They were total strangers to that great, special law of religion which requires us to love both. A neighbor is literally one that lives near to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 43-48Verses 43-48 The Jewish teachers by "neighbour" understood only those who were of their own country, nation, and religion, whom they were pleased to look upon as their friends. The Lord Jesus teaches that we must do all the real kindness we can to all, especially to their souls. We must pray for them. While many will render good for good, we must render good for evil; and this will speak a nobler principle than most men act by. Others salute their…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 43-47Hate your enemy: Jesus is not rejecting the Old Testament. Instead, he is correcting a traditional interpretation that was mistaken (see Exodus 23:4–5). The Old Testament never commands people to “hate your enemy.” The closest verses are in Psalm 139:21–22, where hatred is expressed toward God’s enemies.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4343. Ye have heard that it hath been said--(Le 19:18). Thou shalt love thy neighbour--To this the corrupt teachers added, and hate thine enemy--as if the one were a legitimate inference from the other, instead of being a detestable gloss, as Bengel indignantly calls it. Lightfoot quotes some of the cursed maxims inculcated by those traditionists regarding the proper treatment of all Gentiles. No wonder that the Romans charged the Jews with hatred of the…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 5:43

• Commandments
• Enemy
• Forgiveness
• Hatred
• Instruction
• Judaism
• Law
• Love
• Religion
• Retaliation

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Communication
• Despitefully
• Enemy
• Fornication
• Forswear
• Gift
• Hunger
• Inherit
• Jot

Commentaries on Matthew 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings