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.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jesus, addressing his disciples and a large crowd on a level place (Luke 6:17), in the middle of a contrast between common reciprocity and the ethic of his followers.

The words — agapate (ἀγαπᾶτε), imperative of agapaō: a deliberate, willful love directed by choice rather than emotion. Agathopoieite (ἀγαθοποιεῖτε), "do good," compounds agathos (good) with poiēō (to make), framing kindness as an act of production, not a passive disposition.

The thread — Matthew 5:44 pairs enemy-love with prayer for persecutors; Proverbs 19:17 redefines lending to the poor as a loan to the Lord himself, which he repays.

Why it lands — It strips the transaction out of generosity: love, good deeds, and loans are to be given to people who are hostile and will not repay, with no expectation of return. The reward is not a payment but an identity — "sons of the Most High" — grounded in the Father's own character toward the ungrateful.

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

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Cross-references

Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
Proverbs 19:17 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
Romans 5:8 But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Psalms 145:9 The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.
Leviticus 25:35 Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
Psalms 112:5 It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.
Proverbs 22:9 A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.