Matthew 5:44

Bible in Basic English (1941)

But I say to you, Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you;

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, Ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν, εὐλογειτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς, καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοὺς μισοῦντας ὑμᾶς, καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς, καὶ διωκόντων ὑμᾶς·

Transliteration

Egō de legō to-you, Agapate the echthrous of-you, eulogeite the katarōmenous you, kalōs poieite to-the misountas you, and proseuchesthe for the epēreazontōn you, and diōkontōn you;

Grammar Details

• *Egō*: nominative personal pronoun - I
• *de*: postpositive conjunction - but/and
• *legō*: present active indicative, 1st person singular - I say/tell
• *Agapate*: present active imperative, 2nd person plural - love!
• *echthrous*: accusative masculine plural - enemies
• *eulogeite*: present active imperative, 2nd person plural - bless!
• *katarōmenous*: present middle/passive participle, accusative masculine plural - cursing
• *kalōs*: adverb - well/good
• *poieite*: present active imperative, 2nd person plural - do!
• *misountas*: present active participle, accusative masculine plural - hating
• *proseuchesthe*: present middle/passive imperative, 2nd person plural - pray!
• *epēreazontōn*: present active participle, genitive masculine plural - mistreating/insulting
• *diōkontōn*: present active participle, genitive masculine plural - persecuting

Word Meanings

• *Egō*: I/myself
• *legō*: say/tell/speak
• *Agapate*: love (agape - selfless, sacrificial love)
• *echthrous*: enemies/foes/opponents
• *eulogeite*: bless/speak well of
• *katarōmenous*: cursing/pronouncing evil against
• *kalōs*: well/good/nobly
• *poieite*: do/perform/act toward
• *misountas*: hating/detesting
• *proseuchesthe*: pray/petition
• *epēreazontōn*: mistreating/insulting/abusing
• *diōkontōn*: persecuting/pursuing/harassing

Referenced Verses

• Luke 6:27-28 : 27 But I say to you who give ear to me, Have love for those who are against you, do good to those who have hate for you, 28 Give blessing to those who give you curses, say prayers for those who are cruel to you.
• Rom 12:14 : 14 Give blessing and not curses to those who are cruel to you.
• 1 Pet 3:9 : 9 Not giving back evil for evil, or curse for curse, but in place of cursing, blessing; because this is the purpose of God for you that you may have a heritage of blessing.
• Rom 12:20-21 : 20 But if one who has hate for you is in need of food or of drink, give it to him, for in so doing you will put coals of fire on his head. 21 Do not let evil overcome you, but overcome evil by good.
• Luke 23:34 : 34 And Jesus said, Father, let them have forgiveness, for they have no knowledge of what they are doing. And they made division of his clothing among them by the decision of chance.
• Prov 25:21-22 : 21 If your hater is in need of food, give him bread; and if he is in need of drink, give him water: 22 For so you will put coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will give you your reward.
• 1 Pet 2:23 : 23 To sharp words he gave no sharp answer; when he was undergoing pain, no angry word came from his lips; but he put himself into the hands of the judge of righteousness:
• Acts 7:60 : 60 And going down on his knees, he said in a loud voice, Lord, do not make them responsible for this sin. And when he had said this, he went to his rest.
• Luke 6:34-35 : 34 And if you let those have the use of your money, from whom you are hoping to get it back, what credit is it to you? even sinners do so to sinners, hoping to get back as much as they gave. 35 But be loving to those who are against you and do them good, and give them your money, not giving up hope, and your reward will be great and you will be the sons of the Most High: for he is kind to evil men, and to those who have hard hearts.
• 1 Cor 4:12-13 : 12 And with our hands we do the hardest work: when they give us curses we give blessings, when we undergo punishment we take it quietly; 13 When evil things are said about us we give gentle answers: we are made as the unclean things of the world, as that for which no one has any use, even till now.
• 1 Cor 13:4-8 : 4 Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride; 5 Love's ways are ever fair, it takes no thought for itself; it is not quickly made angry, it takes no account of evil; 6 It takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, but has joy in what is true; 7 Love has the power of undergoing all things, having faith in all things, hoping all things. 8 Though the prophet's word may come to an end, tongues come to nothing, and knowledge have no more value, love has no end.
• Exod 23:4-5 : 4 If you come across the ox or the ass of one who is no friend to you wandering from its way, you are to take it back to him. 5 If you see the ass of one who has no love for you bent down to the earth under the weight which is put on it, you are to come to its help, even against your desire.
• 2 Kgs 6:22 : 22 But he said in answer, You are not to put them to death; have you any right to put to death those whom you have not taken prisoner with your sword and your bow? put bread and water before them, so that they may have food and drink and go to their master.
• Ps 7:4 : 4 If I have given back evil to him who did evil to me, or have taken anything from him who was against me without cause;
• Ps 35:13-14 : 13 But as for me, when they were ill I put on the clothing of sorrow: I went without food and was sad, and my prayer came back again to my heart. 14 My behaviour was as if it had been my friend or my brother: I was bent low in grief like one whose mother is dead.
• 2 Chr 28:9-9 : 9 But a prophet of the Lord was there, named Oded; and he went out in front of the army which was coming into Samaria and said to them, Truly, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them up into your hands, and you have put them to death in an outburst of wrath stretching up to heaven. 10 And now your purpose is to keep the children of Judah and Jerusalem as men-servants and women-servants under your yoke: but are there no sins against the Lord your God to be seen among yourselves? 11 And now give ear to me, and send back the prisoners whom you have taken from your brothers: for the wrath of the Lord is burning against you. 12 Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah, the son of Johanan, Berechiah, the son of Meshillemoth Jehizkiah, the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, put themselves against those who had come from the war, 13 And said to them, You are not to let these prisoners come here; for what you are designing to do will be a cause of sin against the Lord to us, making even greater our sin and our wrongdoing, which now are great enough, and his wrath is burning against Israel. 14 So the armed men gave up the prisoners and the goods they had taken to the heads and the meeting of the people. 15 And those men who have been named went up and took the prisoners, clothing those among them who were uncovered, with things from the goods which had been taken in the war, and putting robes on them and shoes on their feet; and they gave them food and drink and oil for their bodies, and seating all the feeble among them on asses, they took them to Jericho, the town of palm-trees, to their people, and then went back to Samaria.