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NASB | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Prov 25:21, 22] |
Bible Question:
According to the bible, what does it mean to hate? What is hatred? When is hatred righteous, and when is it sinful? Please be specific with verses that support your answers. |
Bible Answer: Hi, it is never OK to hate people (Matthew 5.42-48; 1 John 3.15). It is always OK to hate sin (Romans 7.15; Hebrews 1.9; Revelation 2.6). The Old Testament regularly speaks about abhorring sin. One problem with the verb to 'hate' as found in our translations of Scripture is that in the Hebrew and Greek the word often meant 'love less'. It covered a wide spectrum of hatred, dislike and 'loving less'. This comes out in the story of Jacob. 'And he went in also to Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah.' (Gen 29.30). The position is clear, he loved Rachel more than Leah. Then it says, 'And the LORD saw that Leah was hated.' Here the word should really be translated 'loved less', according to the information found in the previous verse. When Jesus spoke of us 'hating' our father and mother, He was really speaking of 'loving less' than God. When God says of Esau, 'Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated' He then also says, 'the elder will serve the younger' (Romans 9.12-13). It was a matter of degrees of love, not of actual hatred. |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Matt 5:44 | Author | ||
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BigSlim | ||
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tray | ||
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gracefull | ||
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Norrie | ||
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Sonlit | ||
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lebo | ||
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WingsofAngels | ||
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Parable | ||
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rabban | ||
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Parable | ||
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JohnDiscipleship | ||
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Lissamz |