Matthew 5:44

5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and ¹  pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 6:12

6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves ²  have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 6:14-15

6:14 “For if you forgive others ³  their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 6:15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.

Matthew 18:16

18:16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. ⁴ 

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. ⁵ 

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ⁶  to this present world, ⁷  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁸  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Romans 3:13-14

3:13 “Their throats are open graves, ⁹ 

they deceive with their tongues,

the poison of asps is under their lips.” ¹⁰ 

3:14 “Their mouths are ¹¹  full of cursing and bitterness.” ¹² 

¹ 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.

² tn Or “as even we.” The phrase ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς (Jw" kai Jhmei") makes ἡμεῖς emphatic. The translation above adds an appropriate emphasis to the passage.

³ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense: “people, others.”

⁴ sn A quotation from Deut 19:15.

⁵ sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.

⁶ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

⁷ tn Grk “to this age.”

⁸ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

⁹ tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”

¹⁰ sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.

¹¹ tn Grk “whose mouth is.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹² sn A quotation from Ps 10:7.