Matthew 5:44 (ASV)

Passage

but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy:

Matthew 5:44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;

Matthew 5:45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.

Matthew 5:46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "love", "enemies", "pray", and "persecute". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "love" and "enemies", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 43's "Ye have heard that it was said..." into verse 45's "that ye may be sons of your...", so "love" and "enemies" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "love" and "enemies" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.