Love your enemies

Matthew 5:44 is the 44th verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the second verse of the final antithesis, that on the commandment to Love thy neighbour as thyself. Jesus has just stated that some had taught that one should "hate your enemies" and in this verse he rejects this view.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

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;

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,

This is one of the most important verses in the entire New Testament. Luz states that the ideas expressed in this verse are "considered the Christian distinction and innovation." "Love thy enemies" is what separates Christianity from all earlier religions. Nolland disagrees with this, seeing a number of historical precedents. The Babylonian text the Counsels of Wisdom contains a similar call as does the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope. In Greek and Roman philosophy the idea of loving one's enemies had been advanced by writers such as Cicero, Seneca, and the Cynics.

This verses matches well with a passage in the Old Testament, in which King Solomon says that one should feed one's enemy if he or she is hungry.

The author of Matthew places this verse in the final antithesis, a summary of all that been stated in the Sermon. Early church thinkers also saw this as one of Jesus' most important teachings. The exact wording does not appear in prior Jewish texts, but there are examples of previous thinkers sharing Jesus' sentiments. Other traditions do have similar views. The Greek stoics expressed similar dicta of universal love. It is theoretically possible that Jesus could have been influenced by these ideas, but unlikely. The eastern faiths of Buddhism and Taoism also share this outlook. Nietzsche rejected the command entirely, arguing that love of one's enemies is weakness and dishonesty. Mao Tse-Tung also wrote a commentary on this precept, arguing that universal love is an ultimate goal, but that it is impossible until the class system is removed.

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