But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Parallel translations
- WEB But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
- KJV But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
- NKJV But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
- NASB 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 Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people.
- NLT “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
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
Jesus commands love for enemies, doing good and lending without expecting return, promising a great reward and the dignity of being God's children. We imitate the Father, who is kind even to the ungrateful and evil.
Overview
This verse gathers the preceding commands into a single call to enemy-love rooted in the very character of God. The promised reward is not earned merit but the gracious gift of those who bear the family likeness of the Most High. By His kindness to the unthankful, God shows the grace that culminates in the cross, where He loved His enemies and reconciled them to Himself (Romans 5:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Matt 5:44–45But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
- John 13:35By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
- Prov 19:17Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Rom 5:8–10But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Ps 145:9The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.
- 2 Cor 8:9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Prov 22:9A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
- Ps 112:5It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.
- Lev 25:35–37Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
- 1 Jn 4:7–11Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
- Ps 37:26They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.
- John 15:8This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.
- 1 Jn 3:10–14By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
- Acts 14:17Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
- Luke 1:32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Luke 6:27–31But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
- Mark 5:7And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 6:35 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.