Love your enemies?

Love Your Enemies

 

Matthew 5:44 ESV / 209 helpful votes

 

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 5:43-48 ESV / 173 helpful votes

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ...

Luke 6:27 ESV / 140 helpful votes

 

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

Romans 12:20 ESV / 112 helpful votes

 

To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Romans 12:14 ESV / 107 helpful votes

 

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Leviticus 19:18 ESV / 101 helpful votes

 

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Luke 6:35 ESV / 98 helpful votes

 

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.

Luke 23:34 ESV / 97 helpful votes

 

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

1 John 4:7 ESV / 94 helpful votes

 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Acts 7:60 ESV / 83 helpful votes

 

And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Exodus 23:5 ESV / 77 helpful votes

 

If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV / 74 helpful votes

 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Luke 6:27-36 ESV / 74 helpful votes

 

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. ...

Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV / 74 helpful votes

 

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Romans 12:17-21 ESV / 71 helpful votes

 

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

John 3:16 ESV / 70 helpful votes

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 5:43 ESV / 70 helpful votes

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Proverbs 24:17 ESV / 70 helpful votes

 

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

Luke 6:27-28 ESV / 69 helpful votes

 

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV / 65 helpful votes

 

Let all that you do be done in love.

1 Peter 3:9 ESV / 62 helpful votes

 

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Matthew 5:45 ESV / 62 helpful votes

 

So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 56 helpful votes

 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Mark 12:31 ESV / 56 helpful votes

 

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Matthew 5:48 ESV / 55 helpful votes

 

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Romans 12:9 ESV / 53 helpful votes

 

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Exodus 23:22 ESV / 51 helpful votes

 

“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

1 Peter 4:8 ESV / 50 helpful votes

 

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Matthew 7:12 ESV / 49 helpful votes

 

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Psalm 138:7 ESV / 49 helpful votes

 

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.

Proverbs 16:7 ESV / 47 helpful votes

 

When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Romans 12:14-21 ESV / 46 helpful votes

 

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ...

Romans 8:28 ESV / 46 helpful votes

 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Matthew 4:1-25 ESV / 46 helpful votes

 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ...

John 13:34 ESV / 45 helpful votes

 

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Matthew 5:9 ESV / 44 helpful votes

 

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Proverbs 10:12 ESV / 44 helpful votes

 

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Revelation 1:1-20 ESV / 43 helpful votes

 

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...

Matthew 5:46 ESV / 43 helpful votes

 

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 43 helpful votes

 

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...

Luke 6:28 ESV / 42 helpful votes

 

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Proverbs 25:21 ESV / 42 helpful votes

 

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

Job 31:29-30 ESV / 42 helpful votes

 

“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him (I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse),

1 John 3:18 ESV / 41 helpful votes

 

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

John 3:16-17 ESV / 40 helpful votes

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Luke 6:31 ESV / 40 helpful votes

 

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Deuteronomy 20:1 ESV / 40 helpful votes

 

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 26:6 ESV / 40 helpful votes

 

I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land.

Romans 13:8 ESV / 39 helpful votes

 

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Exodus 23:4-5 ESV / 39 helpful votes

 

“If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

Romans 13:10 ESV / 38 helpful votes

 

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 13:8-10 ESV / 38 helpful votes

 

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Proverbs 20:22 ESV / 37 helpful votes

 

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

Proverbs 17:17 ESV / 37 helpful votes

 

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Matthew 24:13 ESV / 36 helpful votes

 

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 ESV / 34 helpful votes

 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ...

1 Corinthians 4:12 ESV / 33 helpful votes

 

And we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;

Romans 12:21 ESV / 32 helpful votes

 

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19 ESV / 32 helpful votes

 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Matthew 6:1-34 ESV / 32 helpful votes

 

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ...

Mark 11:25 ESV / 30 helpful votes

 

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Luke 13:32-35 ESV / 29 helpful votes

 

And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Proverbs 24:17-18 ESV / 29 helpful votes

 

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.

1 Peter 2:23 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

James 1:2-5 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Colossians 3:1-4 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Philippians 3:13-14 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 12:9-11 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Acts 7:52-60 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ...

John 13:33-35 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Luke 23:28-37 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ...

Matthew 5:8-12 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Obadiah 1:12-13 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity.

Isaiah 43:18 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

Proverbs 24:17-20 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

Psalm 23:5 ESV / 28 helpful votes

 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Ephesians 4:2 ESV / 27 helpful votes

 

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Proverbs 14:29 ESV / 27 helpful votes

 

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

Matthew 5:47 ESV / 26 helpful votes

 

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Job 31:29 ESV / 26 helpful votes

 

“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him

1 John 4:19 ESV / 24 helpful votes

 

We love because he first loved us.

Romans 5:8 ESV / 23 helpful votes

 

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

2 Timothy 3:12 ESV / 22 helpful votes

 

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Proverbs 25:22 ESV / 22 helpful votes

 

For you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Psalm 1:1-6 ESV / 22 helpful votes

 

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ...

1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV / 22 helpful votes

 

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV / 21 helpful votes

 

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Galatians 2:20 ESV / 20 helpful votes

 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Romans 5:6-8 ESV / 20 helpful votes

 

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Luke 23:33-34 ESV / 20 helpful votes

 

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Matthew 5:43-45 ESV / 20 helpful votes

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 5:38-48 ESV / 20 helpful votes

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. ...

Colossians 3:14 ESV / 19 helpful votes

 

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Isaiah 1:1-31 ESV / 19 helpful votes

 

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. ...

1 John 3:1 ESV / 17 helpful votes

 

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

James 4:7 ESV / 17 helpful votes

 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

John 14:15 ESV / 17 helpful votes

 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Luke 6:32 ESV / 17 helpful votes

 

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

1 John 4:8 ESV / 16 helpful votes

 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Philippians 2:2 ESV / 16 helpful votes

 

Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.