22 Bible Verses about Loving Your Enemies

Most Relevant Verses

Romans 12:14-21

Keep on blessing your persecutors; keep on blessing and stop cursing them. Practice rejoicing with people who rejoice, and weeping with people who weep. Keep on thinking in harmony with one another. Stop being high-minded but keep on associating with lowly people. Stop being conceited.read more.
Stop returning evil for evil to anyone. Always see to it that your affairs are right in the sight of everybody. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in peace with everybody. Stop taking revenge on one another, beloved, but leave a place for God's anger, for the Scripture says, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back, says the Lord." Do the opposite. If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for if you act in this way, you will heap burning coals upon his head! Stop being conquered by evil, but keep on conquering evil with good.

John 13:33-35

Dear children, I am to be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, but, as I told the Jews, so I now tell you, you cannot just now go where I am going. I give you a new command, to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you too must love one another. By this everybody will know that you are my disciples, if you keep on showing love for one another."

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

If I could speak the languages of men, of angels too, and have no love, I am only a rattling pan or a clashing cymbal. If I should have the gift of prophecy, And know all secret truths, and knowledge in its every form, and have such perfect faith that I could move mountains, but have no love, I am nothing. If I should dole out everything I have for charity, and give my body up to torture in mere boasting pride, but have no love, I get from it no good at all.read more.
Love is so patient and so kind; love never boils with jealousy; it never boasts, is never puffed with pride; It does not act with rudeness, or insist upon its rights; it never gets provoked, it never harbors evil thoughts; Is never glad when wrong is done, but always glad when truth prevails; It bears up under anything; it exercises faith in everything; it keeps up hope in everything; it gives us power to endure in anything. Love never fails; if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if now exist ecstatic speakings, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will soon be set aside;

Romans 12:9-11

Your love must be true. You must always turn in horror from what is wrong, but keep on holding to what is right. In brotherly love be affectionate to one another, in personal honors put one another to the fore, never slack in earnestness, always on fire with the Spirit, always serving the Lord,

Matthew 5:8-12

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called God's sons. "Blessed are those who suffer persecution for being and doing right, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.read more.
"Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and keep on falsely telling all sorts of evil against you for my sake. Keep on rejoicing and leaping for ecstasy, for your reward will be rich in heaven; for this is the way they persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

Luke 13:32-35

But He said to them: "Go and tell that fox, 'Here I am, driving out demons and performing cures, today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish these tasks. But I must continue on my way, for it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside Jerusalem.' "O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! The city that continues to murder the prophets, and to stone those who are sent to her, how often I have yearned to gather your children around me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But you refused!read more.
Now your house is abandoned to its fate! And I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, 'Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Luke 23:28-37

But Jesus turned to the women and said, "Women of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but continue to weep for yourselves and for your children. For a time is coming when people will say, 'Happy are the women who are childless, and the women who have never borne and nursed babies!' Then people will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us up!'read more.
For if they do this when the wood is green, what will they do when it is dry?" Two others, criminals, were also led out to be executed with Him. When they reached the place called "The Skull," they crucified Him there; also the criminals, one at His right and one at His left. They drew lots to divide His clothes among them. Meanwhile, the people stood looking on. Even the members of the council were scoffing at Him and saying, "He saved others, let Him now save Himself, if He really is the Christ of God, His Chosen One!" The soldiers also made sport of Him as they continued to come up and offer Him vinegar, and to say, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!"

Acts 7:52-60

Which of the prophets did your forefathers fail to persecute? They killed the prophets who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have betrayed and murdered Him, you who received the law by order of the angels, and yet you did not obey it!" As they continued to listen to this address, they were becoming infuriated and began to grind their teeth at him.read more.
But since he was full of the Holy Spirit, he looked right into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God's right hand. So he said, "Look! I see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand." But they raised a great shout and held their ears, and all together rushed upon him, and dragged him out of the city and continued stoning him. The witnesses, in the meantime, laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They continued stoning Stephen as he continued praying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not charge this sin on the book against them!" On saying this he fell asleep in death.

Philippians 3:13-14

Brothers, I do not think that I have captured it yet, but here is my one aspiration, so forgetting what is behind me and reaching out for what is ahead of me, I am pressing onward toward the goal, to win the prize to which God through Jesus Christ is calling us upward.

Colossians 3:1-4

So if you have been raised to life in fellowship with Christ, keep on seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Practice occupying your minds with the things above, not with the things on earth; for you have died, and your life is now hidden in God through your fellowship with Christ.read more.
When Christ, who is our life, appears, you too will appear to be glorified in fellowship with Him.

James 1:2-5

You must consider it the purest joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials, for you surely know that what is genuine in your faith produces the patient mind that endures; but you must let your endurance come to its perfect product, so that you may be fully developed and perfectly equipped, without any defects.read more.
But if any one of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask God who generously gives to everyone and never reproaches one with its lack, and it will be given to him.

Matthew 5:43

"You have heard that it was said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, practice loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors, to prove that you are sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun rise on bad as well as good people, and makes the rain come down on doers of right and of wrong alike.read more.
For if you practice loving only those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax-collectors practice that? And if you say 'Good morning' to your brothers only, what more than others are you doing? So you, my followers, ought to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is."

Luke 6:27-36

But I say to you who listen now to me, practice loving your enemies, practice doing good to those who hate you, continue to bless those who curse you, and continue to pray for those who abuse you. To the man who strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other too; and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either,read more.
Practice giving to everyone who asks of you, and stop demanding back your goods from him who takes them away. Yes, you must practice dealing with others as you would like them to deal with you. Now if you practice loving only those who love you, what credit do you get for that? Why, even notorious sinners practice loving those who love them. And if you practice doing good only to those who do good to you, what credit do you get for that? Even notorious sinners practice the same. And if you ever lend to people expecting to get it back, what credit do you get for that? Even notorious sinners practice lending to one another, expecting to get it back in full. But you must practice loving your enemies, doing good to them, and lending to them, despairing of nothing; so that your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Continue to be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

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Enemies » Loving your enemies

Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, practice loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors, to prove that you are sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun rise on bad as well as good people, and makes the rain come down on doers of right and of wrong alike. read more.
For if you practice loving only those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax-collectors practice that? And if you say 'Good morning' to your brothers only, what more than others are you doing? So you, my followers, ought to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is."

Luke 6:27-35

But I say to you who listen now to me, practice loving your enemies, practice doing good to those who hate you, continue to bless those who curse you, and continue to pray for those who abuse you. To the man who strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other too; and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either, read more.
Practice giving to everyone who asks of you, and stop demanding back your goods from him who takes them away. Yes, you must practice dealing with others as you would like them to deal with you. Now if you practice loving only those who love you, what credit do you get for that? Why, even notorious sinners practice loving those who love them. And if you practice doing good only to those who do good to you, what credit do you get for that? Even notorious sinners practice the same. And if you ever lend to people expecting to get it back, what credit do you get for that? Even notorious sinners practice lending to one another, expecting to get it back in full. But you must practice loving your enemies, doing good to them, and lending to them, despairing of nothing; so that your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

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