Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 5:43-48)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 5:43-48:

From ancient times, it’s been said: “Love friends. Hate enemies!”

But I tell you to love your enemies
       and pray for everyone who mistreats you.
That’s how to behave like children of your Father above,
       who provides rain and sunshine for everyone, good or evil.

Do you love only those who love you?
       Are you good only to your friends?
So what? Even the worst of people are good to their friends.

I tell you to always behave like children of your Father above!

Translation commentary on Matthew 5:44

But I say to you repeats a formula of emphasis used several times throughout this discourse; it first appears in verse 22.

Love your enemies is the rendering of most all English translations. Following this command, some late manuscripts of the New Testament insert “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you” (so King James Version; see the footnotes of New English Bible and New International Version). This addition comes from the parallel account in Luke 6.27-28. As TC-GNT indicates, the omission of these exhortations from the earliest representatives of the different text types “would be entirely unaccountable,” had they originally been a part of Matthew’s Gospel. Love your enemies is an exhortation or a command: “You must have love for” or “You are to show love for.” See the comment at verse 34 on “love.” Enemies was discussed in the previous verse.

Both Matthew and Luke (6.27-28) indicate that the disciples are to pray for those who oppose them. The verb translated pray occurs a total of eighty-six times in the New Testament, including sixteen times in this Gospel; it is the most general verb used of prayer, and any specific meaning (whether petition, request, or any other) will depend entirely upon the context in which it is used. Here pray can be translated “ask God to bless” or “pray to God to help.”

The inclusion of persecute in Matthew, as opposed to the more general terms in Luke (“hate … curse … abuse”), intimates to some scholars that Matthew is thinking of a realistic situation in which the disciples are now undergoing persecution. The verb persecute is found also in 5.10, 11, 12; 10.23; 23.34; it generally refers to religious persecution. Persecute was discussed in verse 10. Here it can be “those who cause you to suffer,” “who harm you,” or “who mistreat you.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 5:44

5:44a

But I tell you: The clause But I tell you also occurs in 5:22a, 5:28a, 5:32a, 5:34a, and 5:39a. Translate it here as you did there.

love: You should translate the word love here in the same way as in 5:43. But here the verb is plural (“all of you”).

5:44b

pray for those:
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pray means “speak/talk to God.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Pray to God for those
-or-
Speak to God concerning those ⌊people⌋
-or-
Ask God ⌊to help/bless⌋ the people

Some languages may use different words to refer to specific kinds of prayer, such as requests, thanks, or praise. Here you should use a word or expression that has a general meaning. Avoid a term that may imply magical or meaningless words.

who persecute you: The word persecute means “deliberately harm someone,” “mistreat someone” or “cause someone to suffer.”

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

mistreat
-or-
cause to suffer
-or-
oppress

-or-

harm on purpose

This same word occurs in 5:10a.

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