Matthew 5:41-43 New English Translation
41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile,[a] go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you,[b] and do not reject[c] the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’[d] and ‘hate your enemy.’[e]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 5:41 sn If anyone forces you to go one mile. In NT times Roman soldiers had the authority to press civilians into service to carry loads for them. The Greek verb is a semi-technical term and its only other NT uses are in Matt 27:32 and Mark 15:21, both of which refer to Simon of Cyrene being forced to carry Jesus’ cross.
- Matthew 5:42 sn Jesus advocates a generosity and a desire to meet those in dire need with the command give to the one who asks you. This may allude to begging; giving alms was viewed highly in the ancient world (Matt 6:1-4; Deut 15:7-11).
- Matthew 5:42 tn Grk “do not turn away from.”
- Matthew 5:43 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
- Matthew 5:43 sn The phrase hate your enemy does not occur explicitly in the OT, but was commonly inferred from passages like Deut 7:2; 30:7; Ps 26:5; Ps 139:21-22. Jesus’ hearers (and Matthew’s readers) would not have been surprised by the statement. It is the antithesis Jesus gives in the following verses that would have shocked them.
New English Translation (NET)
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