Luke 10:34

10:34 He ¹  went up to him ²  and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil ³  and wine on them. Then ⁴  he put him on ⁵  his own animal, ⁶  brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Exodus 23:4-5

23:4 “If you encounter ⁷  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ⁸  it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ⁹  but be sure to help ¹⁰  him with it. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 24:17-18

24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, ¹² 

and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,

24:18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, ¹³ 

and turn his wrath away from him. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 25:21-22

25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, ¹⁵ 

and the Lord will reward you. ¹⁶ 

Matthew 5:43-45

Love for Enemies

5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ ¹⁷  and ‘hate your enemy.’ 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and ¹⁸  pray for those who persecute you, 5:45 so that you may be like ¹⁹  your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Romans 12:20

12:20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head. ²⁰ 

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ²¹  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ²²  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 5:15

5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. ²³  For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, ²⁴  how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

² tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text but are implied. The participle προσελθών (proselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³ sn The ancient practice of pouring oil was designed to comfort and clean the wounds (Isa 1:6).

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁵ tn It is not clear whether the causative nuance of the verb included actual assistance or not (“helped him on” versus “had him get on”; see L&N 15.98), but in light of the severity of the man’s condition as described in the preceding verses, some degree of assistance was almost certainly needed.

⁶ sn His own animal refers to a riding animal, presumably a donkey, but not specified.

⁷ tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

⁸ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

⁹ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

¹⁰ tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

¹¹ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.

¹² sn The saying (vv. 17, 18) warns against gloating over the misfortune of one’s enemies. The prohibition is formed with two negated jussives “do not rejoice” and “let not be glad,” the second qualified by “your heart” as the subject, signifying the inner satisfaction of such a defeat.

¹³ tn Heb “and [it is] evil in his eyes.”

¹⁴ sn The judgment of God should strike a note of fear in the heart of people (e.g., Lev 19:17-18). His judgment is not to be taken lightly, or personalized as a victory. If that were to happen, then the Lord might take pity on the enemies in their calamity, for he champions the downtrodden and defeated. These are probably personal enemies; the imprecatory psalms and the prophetic oracles present a different set of circumstances for the downfall of God’s enemies – even the book of Proverbs says that brings joy to the community.

¹⁵ sn The imagery of the “burning coals” represents pangs of conscience, more readily effected by kindness than by violence. These coals produce the sharp pain of contrition through regret (e.g., 18:19; 20:22; 24:17; Gen 42-45; 1 Sam 24:18-20; Rom 12:20). The coals then would be an implied comparison with a searing conscience.

¹⁶ sn The second consequence of treating enemies with kindness is that the Lord will reward the act. The fact that this is promised shows that the instruction here belongs to the religious traditions of Israel.

¹⁷ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

¹⁸ tc Most mss ([D] L [W] Θ Ë¹³ 33 Ï lat) read “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you,” before “those who persecute you.” But this is surely a motivated reading, importing the longer form of this aphorism from Luke 6:27-28. The shorter text is found in א B ˹ pc sa, as well as several fathers and versional witnesses.

¹⁹ tn Grk “be sons of your Father in heaven.” Here, however, the focus is not on attaining a relationship (becoming a child of God) but rather on being the kind of person who shares the characteristics of God himself (a frequent meaning of the Semitic idiom “son of”). See L&N 58.26.

²⁰ sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.

²¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

²² tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

²³ tn Grk “but not as the transgression, so also [is] the gracious gift.”

²⁴ sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).