Bible Strands
Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses the congregation of Israel within a dense block of social, sexual, and purity regulations (Lev 19:1–18). The immediately preceding verse (v. 17) forbids harboring hatred and commands direct rebuke; the following verse (v. 19) shifts to agricultural and textile purity.
The words — תִטֹּר (tiṭṭôr, "you will keep/guard") is the verb for "bear a grudge"; the root טור elsewhere means to watch or protect, here turned to the act of nursing resentment. תִקֹּם (tiqqôm, "you will avenge yourself") is a strong, active word for personal retaliation, not mere anger.
The thread — Jesus cites the love clause as the second of two greatest commandments (Matt 22:39; Mark 12:31), and Paul groups it with the Decalogue as a summary of the law (Rom 13:9).
Why it lands — The verse pairs two prohibitions (revenge, grudge) with one positive command (love), and the closing "I am the LORD" grounds the demand in divine authority rather than social convenience. It asks the reader to stop investing energy in tracking and repaying harm against a fellow Israelite and to redirect that energy toward love.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
Cross-references
- Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Romans 13:9 The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Mark 12:31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
- Luke 10:27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
- Galatians 5:14 The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
- Matthew 19:19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”
- Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’
- Romans 12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Exodus 23:4 If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.