Luke 6:34

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses His disciples and the gathered crowd during a teaching on radical generosity, contrasting ordinary social reciprocity with kingdom ethics. He speaks at a moment where He is redefining moral credit away from transactional relationships.

The words — δανίσητε (danisēte) translates literally as "you shall lend," and ἐλπίζετε (elpizete) means "you expect." These verbs establish the conditional framework Jesus immediately dismantles.

The thread — The passage directly contrasts with Luke 6:33 and is completed by Luke 6:35, which commands lending without expectation of return. Matthew 5:42 reinforces the prohibition against withholding from those who ask to borrow.

Why it lands — The text states that expecting repayment strips an act of moral value, reducing it to a practice shared by sinners. It asks readers to abandon conditional giving and perform generosity that requires no return.

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 Greek words

King James Version

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

Cross-references

Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Luke 14:12 Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.
Luke 6:35 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.
Deuteronomy 15:8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.