God’s Word Translation
Romans 12:14
14Bless those who persecute you. Bless them, and don’t curse them.
Romans 12:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
- New International Version (NIV)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Context of Romans 12:14
12Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. 13Share what you have with God’s people who are in need. Be hospitable. Bless those who persecute you. Bless them, and don’t curse them. 15Be happy with those who are happy. Be sad with those who are sad. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be arrogant, but be friendly to humble people. Don’t think that you are smarter than you really are.
Read all of Romans 12Romans 12:14 word by word
εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς διώκοντας ὑμᾶς· εὐλογεῖτε καὶ μὴ καταρᾶσθε.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Romans 12:14
- Romans 12:21Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good.
- Job 31:29“If I enjoyed the ruin of my enemy or celebrated when harm came to him
- Matthew 5:44But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.
- Luke 6:28Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who insult you.
- Luke 23:34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.” Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.
- Acts 7:60Then he knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” After he had said this, he died.
- 1 Corinthians 4:12We wear ourselves out doing physical labor. When people verbally abuse us, we bless them. When people persecute us, we endure it.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15Make sure that no one ever pays back one wrong with another wrong. Instead, always try to do what is good for each other and everyone else.
- James 3:10Praise and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen!
- 1 Peter 2:21God called you to endure suffering because Christ suffered for you. He left you an example so that you could follow in his footsteps.
- 1 Peter 3:9Don’t pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you, or ridicule those who ridicule you. Instead, bless them, because you were called to inherit a blessing.
Commentaries on Romans 12:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Bless them which persecute you - , Give good words, or pray for them that give you bad words, , who make dire imprecations against you. Bless them, pray for them, and on no account curse them, whatever the provocation may be. Have the loving, forgiving mind that was in your Lord.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Bless them - see the note at Matthew 5:44; compare Luke 6:28. Bless, and curse not - Bless only; or continue to bless, however long or aggravated may be the injury. Do not be provoked to anger, or to cursing, by any injury, persecution, or reviling. This is one of the most severe and difficult duties of the Christian religion; and it is a duty which nothing else but religion will enable people to perform. To curse denotes properly to devote to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-16Verses 9-16 The professed love of Christians to each other should be sincere, free from deceit, and unmeaning and deceitful compliments. Depending on Divine grace, they must detest and dread all evil, and love and delight in whatever is kind and useful. We must not only do that which is good, but we must cleave to it. All our duty towards one another is summed up in one word, love. This denotes the love of parents to their children; which is more tender…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14The instructions in this verse closely match two teachings of Jesus (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27–28). Paul does not present these commands as direct quotations. However, he is almost certainly referring to the words of Christ. These teachings may have been so well known that Paul did not need to name their source. Many ideas in Romans 12–13 closely reflect the teaching of Jesus.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. Bless--that is, Call down by prayer a blessing on. them which persecute you, &c.--This is taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:44), which, from the allusions made to it, seems to have been the storehouse of Christian morality among the churches.Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 12:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 12
- 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
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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