Matthew 5 · Verse 43

Matthew 5:43

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Matthew 5:43, King James Version

Matthew 5:43 in other translations

BSBYou have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’
WEB“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
ASVYe have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy:
YLT‘Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and shalt hate thine enemy;
DARBYYe have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy.
BBEYou have knowledge that it was said, Have love for your neighbour, and hate for him who is against you:
WebsterYe have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy:

What does Matthew 5:43 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
43. Ye have heard that it hath been said--(Le 19:18). Thou shalt love thy neighbour--To this the corrupt teachers added, and hate thine enemy--as if the one were a legitimate inference from the other, instead of being a detestable gloss, as Bengel indignantly calls it. Lightfoot quotes some of the cursed maxims inculcated by those traditionists regarding the proper treatment of all Gentiles. No wonder that the Romans charged the Jews with hatred of the human race.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 43. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. The command to love our neighbour was a law of God, Lev 19:18. That we must, therefore, hate our enemy, was an inference drawn from it by the Jews. They supposed that if we loved the one, we must, of course, hate the other. They were total strangers to that great, peculiar law of religion, which requires us to love both. A neighbour is literally one that lives near to us; then, one that is near to us by acts of kindness and friendship. This is its meaning here. See also Lk 10:36.

(h) "Thou shalt love thy neighbour" De 23:6

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 43 Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy - Instead of πλησιον neighbor, the Codex Graevii, a MS. of the eleventh century, reads φιλον friend. Thou shalt love thy friend, and hate thine enemy. This was certainly the meaning which the Jews put on it: for neighbor, with them, implied those of the Jewish race, and all others were, considered by them as natural enemies. Besides, it is evident that πλησιον, among the Hellenistic Jews, meant friend merely: Christ uses it precisely in this sense in Luk 10:36, in answer to the question asked by a certain lawyer, Mat 5:29. Who of the three was neighbor (πλησιον friend) to him who fell among the thieves? He who showed him mercy; i.e. he who acted the friendly part. In Hebrew, רע reâ, signifies friend, which word is translated πλησιον by the Lxx. in more than one hundred places. Among the Greeks it was a very comprehensive term, and signified every man, not even an enemy excepted, as Raphelius, on this verse, has shown from Polybius. The Jews thought themselves authorized to kill any Jew who apostatized; and, though they could not do injury to the Gentiles, in whose country they sojourned, yet they were bound to suffer them to perish, if they saw them in danger of death. Hear their own words: "A Jew sees a Gentile fall into the sea, let him by no means lift him out; for it is written, Thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbor: - but this is not thy neighbor." Maimon. This shows that by neighbor they understood a Jew; one who was of the same blood and religion with themselves.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 5:43-48
The Jewish teachers by "neighbour" understood only those who were of their own country, nation, and religion, whom they were pleased to look upon as their friends. The Lord Jesus teaches that we must do all the real kindness we can to all, especially to their souls. We must pray for them. While many will render good for good, we must render good for evil; and this will speak a nobler principle than most men act by. Others salute their brethren, and embrace those of their own party, and way, and opinion, but we must not so confine our respect. It is the duty of Christians to desire, and aim at, and press towards perfection in grace and holiness. And therein we must study to conform ourselves to the example of our heavenly Father, 1Pe 1:15, 16. Surely more is to be expected from the followers of Christ than from others; surely more will be found in them than in others. Let us beg of God to enable us to prove ourselves his children.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Matthew 5:43 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἨκούσατεĒkousateYou have heardG191
ὅτιhotithatG3754
ἐρρέθη·errethēit was said;G2046
ἀγαπήσειςagapēseisYou will loveG25
τὸνtontheG3588
πλησίονplēsionneighbourG4139
σουsouof youG4771
καὶkaiandG2532
μισήσειςmisēseiswill hateG3404
τὸνtontheG3588
ἐχθρόνechthronenemyG2190
σου.souof you.’G4771

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 5:43

  • Leviticus 19:18

    Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

  • Psalms 139:21-22

    Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

  • Galatians 5:13-14

    For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

  • Matthew 19:19

    Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

  • Romans 13:8-10

    Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

  • Deuteronomy 23:6

    Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

  • James 2:8

    If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

  • Mark 12:31-34

    And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

  • Matthew 22:39-40

    And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

  • Psalms 41:10

    But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.

  • Luke 10:27-29

    And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

  • Exodus 17:14-16

    And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it JEHOVAH–nissi: For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Thou.
19:19; 22:39,40; Le 19:18; Mr 12:31-34; Lu 10:27-29; Ro 13:8-10
Ga 5:13,14; Jas 2:8
and hate.
Ex 17:14-16; De 23:6; 25:17; Ps 41:10; 139:21,22

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 5:42

    Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

  • Matthew 5:43

    Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

  • Matthew 5:44

    But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Read all of Matthew 5

Matthew 5:43 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Oísteis que fué dicho: Amarás á tu prójimo, y aborrecerás á tu enemigo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Vous avez entendu qu’il a été dit: « Tu aimeras ton prochain, et tu haïras ton ennemi ».
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ihr habt gehört, daß gesagt ist: Du sollst deinen Nächsten lieben und deinen Feind hassen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Audistis quia dictum est: Diliges proximum tuum, et odio habebis inimicum tuum.