Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him; let him be filled full with reproach.
- KJV He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.
- NKJV Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach.
- NASB Let him give his cheek to the one who is going to strike him; Let him be filled with shame.
- NLT Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The afflicted one should patiently endure insult and injury rather than retaliate.
Overview
Offering the cheek and absorbing reproach describes nonretaliatory endurance under suffering ordained by God. It teaches submission and trust that vindication belongs to the Lord. Jesus deepens this teaching, calling His followers to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39), and Himself gave His cheek to those who struck Him (Isa. 50:6; Matt. 26:67).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 50:6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
- Job 16:10They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.
- Matt 26:67Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
- Matt 5:39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
- 2 Cor 11:20In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.
- Ps 69:20Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.
- Luke 6:29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.
- Mic 5:1Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.
- Ps 123:3Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
- Ps 69:9because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 3:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.