If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
Parallel translations
- WEB If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:
- BSB If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
- NKJV If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
- NASB If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
- NLT If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
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
If your enemy is hungry or thirsty, feed and give him drink. Repay hostility with kindness.
Overview
This remarkable command to do good to one's enemy is quoted by Paul in Romans 12:20 as the believer's response to evil. It overturns the instinct of revenge with active love. It anticipates Jesus' fuller teaching to love enemies and reflects God's own kindness toward sinners (Matt 5:44; Rom 5:8).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Rom 12:20–21Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
- Matt 5:44But 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;
- Exod 23:4–5If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
- Prov 24:17Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
- Luke 10:33–36But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
- 2 Chr 28:15And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.
- 2 Kgs 6:22And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 25:21 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.