New Living Translation
Romans 12:14
14Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless 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
12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
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 by doing good.
- Job 31:29“Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way?
- Matthew 5:44But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
- Luke 6:28Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.
- Luke 23:34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
- Acts 7:60He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
- 1 Corinthians 4:12We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.
- James 3:10And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
- 1 Peter 2:21For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
- 1 Peter 3:9Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his 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
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