Matthew 5:43 (WEB)

Passage

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

Matthew 5:42 Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,

Matthew 5:45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heard", "said", "shall", "love", "neighbor", "hate", and "enemy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heard" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 42's "Give to him who asks you and..." into verse 44's "But I tell you love your enemies...", so "heard" and "said" 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 "heard" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.