Matthew 5:44

Matthew 5:44 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
• New International Version (NIV)But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
• English Standard Version (ESV)But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

Context of Matthew 5:44

42When people ask you for something, you should give it to them. If they ask you to lend them something, then you should not refuse. 43You have heard people say, “Love the people who are your friends. But hate those who want to hurt you.” What I tell you is this: You should love the people who want to hurt you. If people want to give you pain, pray for them. Pray that God would help them. 45If you live like this, you will show that you really are children of your Father above. God is kind to everyone. He causes the sun to shine on everyone, both good people and bad people. He also causes the rain to fall on everyone, people who obey him and people who do not obey him. 46Do you only love people who love you? God will not give you good things just for doing that. Even the men who take taxes love their friends!

Matthew 5:44 word by word

ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto youσύsu · youG4771
• Loveἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• enemiesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• enemiesἐχθρόςechthros · enemyG2190
• blessεὐλογέωeulogeō · to praise/blessG2127
• them that curseκαταράομαιkataraomai · to curseG2672
• doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• goodκαλῶςkalōs · wellG2573
• to them that hateμισέωmiseō · to hateG3404
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• prayπροσεύχομαιproseuchomai · to prayG4336
• forὑπέρhuper · above/forG5228
• them which despitefully useἐπηρεάζωepēreazō · to mistreatG1908
• persecuteδιώκωdiōkō · to pursueG1377

Cross-references for Matthew 5:44

• Exodus 23:4Perhaps you may find your enemy's cow or his donkey when he has lost it. If so, you must give it back to him.
• 2 Kings 6:22Elisha answered, ‘You must not kill them. That would not be right. You did not win a fight against them with your weapons. Give them some food and water. Then they can eat and drink before they go back to their master.’
• 2 Chronicles 28:9Oded, a prophet of the Lord, lived there. He went to meet Israel's soldiers when they arrived back in Samaria. He said to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah's people. So he let you have power over them to punish them. But you have killed them in a very cruel way. God in heaven has seen what you have done.
• Psalms 35:13When they were ill, I wore rough clothes, and I stopped eating food. I bent down my head as I prayed for them.
• Proverbs 25:21If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him some water to drink.
• Luke 6:27Jesus then said, ‘I say this to you who are listening carefully to me: Love the people who want to hurt you. Do good things to people that hate you.
• Luke 23:34Jesus said, ‘Father, these people do not know what they are doing. So please forgive them.’ The soldiers then picked up Jesus' clothes for themselves. They played a game to decide who would receive each piece of his clothes.
• Acts 7:60Then he fell down on his knees. He shouted, ‘Lord, please forgive these men. Do not punish them because they are doing this to me.’ After Stephen had said this, he died.
• Romans 12:14Ask God to bless people who cause trouble for you. Yes, ask him to be kind to them. Do not ask him to do bad things to them.
• 1 Corinthians 4:12We work hard, so that we become very tired. When people insult us, we ask God to bless them. When people give us trouble, we are patient and brave.
• 1 Corinthians 13:4If I love people, I will be patient. I will be kind. I will not be jealous of other people. I will not be proud and say that I am great.
• 1 Peter 2:23People insulted Christ, but he did not say any bad thing to answer them. People caused him to have trouble, but he never tried to hurt them in return. Instead, Christ trusted God to help him. He knew that God always judges people fairly.
• 1 Peter 3:9If people do bad things to you, do not do anything bad to them in return. If people insult you, do not insult them in return. Instead, pray that God will bless those people. That is what God wants you to do. Then you will receive the gift of God's blessing.

Commentaries on Matthew 5:44

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 44Love your enemies - This is the most sublime piece of morality ever given to man. Has it appeared unreasonable and absurd to some? It has. And why? Because it is natural to man to avenge himself, and plague those who plague him; and he will ever find abundant excuse for his conduct, in the repeated evils he receives from others; for men are naturally hostile to each other. Jesus Christ design's to make men happy. Now he is necessarily miserable who hates…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 44Love your enemies - There are two kinds of love, involving the same general feeling, or springing from the same fountain of good-will to all mankind, but differing so far as to admit of separation in idea. The one is that feeling by which we approve of the conduct of another, commonly called the love of complacency; the other, that by which we wish well to the person of another, though we cannot approve his conduct. This is the love of benevolence, and…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. 4444. But I say unto you, Love your enemies--The word here used denotes moral love, as distinguished from the other word, which expresses personal affection. Usually, the former denotes "complacency in the character" of the person loved; but here it denotes the benignant, compassionate outgoings of desire for another's good. bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you--The best…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 5:44

• Commandments
• Cursing
• Enemy
• Forgiveness
• Good for Evil
• Hatred
• Instruction
• Intercession
• Judaism
• Law
• Love
• Persecution
• 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