Luke 6:35

New Century Version

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
"I'm telling you to love your enemies and do good to them. Lend to people without expecting to get anything back. If you do this, you will have a great reward. You will be children of the Most High God. Yes, because God is good even to the people who are full of sin and not thankful.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Wherfore love ye youre enemys do good and lende lokynge for nothinge agayne and youre rewarde shalbe greate and ye shalbe the chyldren of the hyest: for he is kynde vnto the vnkynde and to the evyll.

Hebrew Names Version
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of Ha`Elyon; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

International Standard Version
Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.Psalm 37:26; Matthew 5:45; Luke 6:27; 37:30;">[xr]

New American Standard Bible
"But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

Update Bible Version
But love your enemies, and do [them] good, and lend, never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

Webster's Bible Translation
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind to the unthankful and [to] the evil.

Amplified Bible
"But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked.

English Standard Version
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

World English Bible
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But love ye your enemies, and do good and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Highest; for he is kind to the unthankful and the evil.

Weymouth's New Testament
Nevertheless love your enemies, be beneficent; and lend without hoping for any repayment. Then your recompense shall be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Netheles loue ye youre enemyes, and do ye wel, and leene ye, hopinge no thing therof, and youre mede schal be myche, and ye schulen be the sones of the Heyest, for he is benygne on vnkynde men and yuele men.

English Revised Version
But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

Berean Standard Bible
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Contemporary English Version
But love your enemies and be good to them. Lend without expecting to be paid back. Then you will get a great reward, and you will be the true children of God in heaven. He is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel.

American Standard Version
But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Complete Jewish Bible
But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of Ha‘Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Darby Translation
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of [the] Highest; for *he* is good to the unthankful and wicked.

Etheridge Translation
But love your adversaries, and do good to them, and lend, and cut not off the hope of any one; and great shall be your reward, and you shall be the children of the Most High; for he is benign to the evil and to the ungrateful.

Murdock Translation
But love ye your enemies, and do them good; and lend ye, and disappoint the hopes of no one: and great will be your reward, and ye will be children of the Highest; for he is kind to the evil, and to the unthankful.

King James Version (1611)
But loue yee your enemies, and doe good, and lend, hoping for nothing againe: and your reward shall bee great, and ye shalbe the children of the Highest: for hee is kinde vnto the vnthankfull, and to the euill.

New Living Translation
"Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

New Life Bible
But love those who hate you. Do good to them. Let them use your things and do not expect something back. Your reward will be much. You will be the children of the Most High. He is kind to those who are not thankful and to those who are full of sin.

New Revised Standard
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Wherefore loue ye your enemies, and doe good, and lend, looking for nothing againe, and your rewarde shalbe great, and ye shalbe the children of the most High: for he is kinde vnto the vnkinde, and to the euill.

George Lamsa Translation
But love your enemies, and do good to them, and lend, and do not cut off any man''s hope; so your reward will increase, and you will become sons of the Highest; for he is gracious to the wicked and the cruel.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But love your enemies, and do good and lend, hoping for, nothing, back; and your reward shall be, great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High, - for, he, is, gracious, unto the ungrateful and wicked.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But love ye your enemies: do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of the Highest. For he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.

Revised Standard Version
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But loue ye your enemies, & do good, and lende, lokyng for nothyng agayne: and your rewarde shalbe great, and ye shalbe the chyldren of the hyest: for he is kynde vnto the vnkynde, & to the euyll.

Good News Translation
No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Christian Standard Bible®
But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.

King James Version
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Lexham English Bible
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting back nothing, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Literal Translation
But love the ones hostile to you, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return ; and your reward will be much; and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the unthankful and evil ones.

Young's Literal Translation
`But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again, and your reward will be great, and ye shall be sons of the Highest, because He is kind unto the ungracious and evil;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But rather loue ye yor enemies, do good, and lende, lokynge for nothinge therof agayne: so shal yor rewarde be greate, and ye shalbe the children of the Hyest, for he is kynde, euen to the vnthankfull and to the euell.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but as for you, love your enemies, do good, and lend without expecting any advantage from it: so shall your reward be great, in acting like the children of the most high: for he is kind to the most ungrateful wretches.

THE MESSAGE
"I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

New English Translation
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

New King James Version
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Love your haters, do good to 'em, and lend to 'em without expecting nothin' in return. Then, and only then, will you be gettin' that big reward from God. To those who do this, God will call them his sons because he is kind, even to those who are ungrateful and live in sin.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Legacy Standard Bible
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil.

Contextual Overview

²⁷ "But I say to you who are listening, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who are cruel to you. ²⁹ If anyone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek, too. If someone takes your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and when someone takes something that is yours, don't ask for it back. ³¹ Do to others what you would want them to do to you. ³² If you love only the people who love you, what praise should you get? Even sinners love the people who love them. ³³ If you do good only to those who do good to you, what praise should you get? Even sinners do that! ³⁴ If you lend things to people, always hoping to get something back, what praise should you get? Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. ³⁶ Show mercy, just as your Father shows mercy.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

love: Luke 6:27-31, Leviticus 25:35-37, Psalms 37:26, Psalms 112:5, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 22:9, Romans 5:8-10, 2 Corinthians 8:9

and ye: Matthew 5:44, Matthew 5:45, John 13:35, John 15:8, 1 John 3:10-14, 1 John 4:7-11

for: Psalms 145:9, Acts 14:17

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:16 - the Lord Exodus 22:14 - borrow Deuteronomy 10:19 - General Deuteronomy 14:29 - that the Lord Deuteronomy 15:6 - thou shalt lend Deuteronomy 23:19 - General Deuteronomy 24:19 - may bless Ruth 2:12 - recompense 2 Kings 6:23 - he prepared 2 Chronicles 15:7 - your work Psalms 18:25 - With the Matthew 5:7 - are Matthew 5:9 - for Matthew 5:12 - for great Matthew 10:42 - he shall Matthew 18:33 - even Luke 1:76 - Highest Luke 6:23 - your Luke 6:34 - General 1 Corinthians 13:4 - is kind Galatians 6:10 - do good Ephesians 4:32 - kind Ephesians 5:1 - followers Ephesians 6:8 - whatsoever Philippians 2:15 - sons Colossians 3:13 - forgiving Colossians 3:24 - ye shall 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - none 1 Timothy 6:18 - ready Hebrews 11:6 - a rewarder Hebrews 13:16 - to do 1 Peter 3:11 - do

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But love ye your enemies,.... As before urged in Luke 6:27

and do good and lend; not to your friends only, but to your enemies;

hoping for nothing again; either principal or interest, despairing of seeing either; lending to such persons, from whom, in all appearance, it is never to be expected again. The Persic version renders it, "that ye may not cause any to despair": and the Syriac version, "that ye may not cut off", or "cause to cease the hope of men"; and the Arabic version, "that ye do not deceive the hope of any" that is, by sending such away, without lending to them, who come big with expectations of succeeding:

and your reward shall be great: God will bless you in your worldly substance here, and will not forget your beneficence hereafter:

and ye shall be the children of the Highest: that is of God; one of whose names is עליון "the Most High"; Psalms 82:6 the meaning is, that such who from principles of grace, and with right views do such acts of kindness and beneficence to their fellow creatures and Christians, shall be, made manifest, and declared to be the children of God; since they will appear to be born of him, and made partakers of the divine nature, and bear a resemblance to him, by their imitating him:

for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil; by causing his sun to rise, and his rain to fall on them, as on the righteous and the good; for as Jews w observe,

"there is no difference with him, whether on the right hand or the left; for he is gracious, and does good, even to the ungodly.''

And elsewhere they say x, that

"he does good, and feeds the righteous and the ungodly.''

w R. Abraham ben Dior in Sepher Jetzira, p. 19. x Zohar in Exod. fol. 69. 2, 3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See this passage fully illustrated in the sermon on the mount, in Matt. 5–7.

Luke 6:21

That hunger now - Matthew has it, “that hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Matthew has expressed more fully what Luke has briefly, but there is no contradiction.

Luke 6:24-26

These verses have been omitted by Matthew. They seem to have been spoken to the Pharisees.

Who are rich - In this world’s goods. They loved them; they had sought for them; they found their consolation in them. It implies, farther, that they would not seek or receive consolation from the gospel. They were proud, and would not seek it; satisfied, and did not desire it; filled with cares, and had no time or disposition to attend to it. All the consolation which they had reason to expect they had received. Alas! how poor and worthless is such consolation, compared with that which the gospel would give!

Woe unto you that are full! - Not hungry. Satisfied with their wealth, and not feeling their need of anything better than earthly wealth can give. Many, alas! are thus “full.” They profess to be satisfied. They desire nothing but wealth, and a sufficiency to satisfy the wants of the body. They have no anxiety for the riches that shall endure forever.

Ye shall hunger - Your property shall be taken away, or you shall see that it is of little value; and then you shall see the need of something better. You shall feel your want and wretchedness, and shall “hunger” for something to satisfy the desires of a dying, sinful soul.

That laugh now - Are happy, or thoughtless, or joyful, or filled with levity.

Shall mourn and weep - The time is coming when you shall sorrow deeply. In sickness, in calamity, in the prospect of death, in the fear of eternity, your laughter shall be turned into sorrow. “There is” a place where you cannot laugh, and there you will see the folly of having passed the “proper time” of preparing for such scenes in levity and folly. Alas! how many thus spend their youth! and how many weep when it is too late! God gives them over, and “laughs” at their “calamity,” and mocks when their fear comes, Proverbs 1:26. To be happy in “such scenes,” it is necessary to be sober, humble, pious in early life. “Then” we need not weep in the day of calamity; then there will be no terror in death; then there will be nothing to fear in the grave.

Luke 6:26

When all men shall speak well of you - When they shall praise or applaud you. The people of the world will not praise or applaud “my” doctrine; they are “opposed” to it, and therefore, if they speak well of “you” and of “your teachings,” it is proof that you do not teach the true doctrine. If you do “not” do this, then there will be woe upon you. If men teach false doctrines for true; if they declare that God has spoken that which he has not spoken, and if they oppose what he “has” delivered, then heavy punishments will await them.

For so did their fathers - The fathers or ancestors of this people; the ancient Jews.

To the false prophets - Men who pretended to be of God - who delivered their “own” doctrines as the truth of God, and who accommodated themselves to the desires of the people. Of this number were the prophets of Baal, the false prophets who appeared in the time of Jeremiah, etc.

Luke 6:27, Luke 6:28

See Matthew 5:44-45.

Luke 6:29

See Matthew 5:39-40.

Luke 6:30

See Matthew 5:42.

Luke 6:31

See Matthew 7:12.

Luke 6:32-36

See Matthew 5:46-48.

Luke 6:37-42

See Matthew 7:1-9.

Luke 6:38

Good measure - They shall give you good measure, or “full” measure.

Pressed down - As figs or grapes might be, and thus many more might be put into the measure.

Shaken together - To make it more compact, and thus to give more.

Running over - So full that the measure would overflow.

Shall men give - This is said to be the reward of “giving” to the poor and needy; and the meaning is that the man who is liberal will find others liberal to him in dealing with them, and when he is also in circumstances of want. A man who is himself kind to the poor - who has that “character” established - will find many who are ready to help “him” abundantly when he is in want. He that is parsimonious, close, niggardly, will find few or none who will aid him.

Into your bosom - That is, to you. The word “bosom” here has reference to a custom among Oriental nations of making the bosom or front part of their garments large, so that articles could be carried in them, answering the purpose of our pockets. Compare Exodus 4:6-7; Proverbs 6:27; Ruth 3:15.

Luke 6:39

A parable - A proverb or similitude.

Can the blind lead the blind? - See the notes at Matthew 15:14.

Luke 6:40

The disciple is not ... - The learner is not above his teacher, does not know more, and must expect to fare no better. This seems to have been spoken to show them that they were not to expect that their disciples would go “beyond them” in attainments; that if they were blind, their followers would be also; and that therefore it was important for them to understand fully the doctrines of the gospel, and not to be blind leaders of the blind.

Every one that is perfect - The word rendered “is perfect” means sometimes to repair or mend, and is thus applied to mending nets, Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19. Hence, it means to repair or amend in a moral sense, or to make whole or complete. Here it means, evidently, “thoroughly instructed” or “informed.” The Christian should be like his Master - holy, harmless, and undefiled, and separate from sinners. He should copy his example, and grow into the likeness of his Redeemer. Nor can any other be a Christian.

Luke 6:41, Luke 6:42

See the notes at Matthew 7:3-5.

Luke 6:43, Luke 6:44

See the notes at Matthew 7:16-18.

Luke 6:45

This verse is not found in the sermon on the mount as recorded by Matthew, but is recorded by him in Matthew 12:35. See the notes at that passage.

Luke 6:46-49

See the notes at Matthew 7:21-27.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 35. Love ye your enemies — This is the most sublime precept ever delivered to man: a false religion durst not give a precept of this nature, because, without supernatural influence, it must be for ever impracticable. In these words of our blessed Lord we see the tenderness, sincerity, extent, disinterestedness, pattern, and issue of the love of God dwelling in man: a religion which has for its foundation the union of God and man in the same person, and the death of this august being for his enemies; which consists on earth in a reconciliation of the Creator with his creatures, and which is to subsist in heaven only in the union of the members with the head: could such a religion as this ever tolerate hatred in the soul of man, even to his most inveterate foe?

Lend, hoping for nothing again — μηδεν απελπιζοντες. The rabbins say, he who lends without usury, God shall consider him as having observed every precept. Bishop Pearce thinks that, instead of μηδεν we should read μηδενα with the Syriac, later Arabic, and later Persic; and as απελπιζειν signifies to despair, or cause to despair, the meaning is, not cutting off the hope (of longer life) of any man, neminis spem amputantes, by denying him those things which he requests now to preserve him from perishing.