"But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
— Luke 6:27-28 (NIV)
Luke 6:27-28 is Luke's version of Jesus' "love your enemies" teaching, with four concrete commands in a row. This page gives the passage, what the key words mean, where it sits in Luke 6, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about loving your enemies, Love and enemies, and Bible verses about enemies.
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The verses
The King James reads: "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you."
"Love" is agapaō (G25), the love that chooses another person's good, and "enemies" is echthros (G2190). "Do good" joins kalōs (G2573), well, with poieō (G4160), to do. "Hate" is miseō (G3404). "Bless" is eulogeō (G2127) and "curse" is kataraomai (G2672). "Pray" is proseuchomai (G4336), and "mistreat" ("despitefully use") is epēreazō (G1908), to insult or abuse.
Where it sits in Luke 6
This is Jesus' Sermon on the Plain, Luke's parallel to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. It comes right after the blessings and woes, including "Blessed are you when people hate you" (Luke 6:22).
The verses that follow make it practical: "If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also" (Luke 6:29), and "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31). Jesus then gives the reason: "love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:35-36).
What the verses are saying
Jesus does not leave "love your enemies" as an idea. He spells it out four ways, each matched to what the other person is doing. They hate you, so you do good. They curse you, so you bless. They mistreat you, so you pray for them.
The reason is God himself, who is "kind to the ungrateful and wicked." Matthew records the same teaching in Matthew 5:44, and Paul echoes it in Romans 12:14: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."
Questions people ask
What does Luke 6:27-28 say?
In the NIV it says, "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." The KJV ends with "pray for them which despitefully use you."
What is the difference between Luke 6:27-28 and Matthew 5:44?
They teach the same thing. Matthew 5:44 is from the Sermon on the Mount, and many modern translations give it in a shorter form. Luke 6:27-28 is from the Sermon on the Plain and lists all four commands: love, do good, bless, and pray.
What does it mean to do good to those who hate you?
It means meeting hostility with practical kindness: helping, giving, and treating the person fairly even when they do not return it. Luke 6:35 adds lending "without expecting to get anything back."
Does loving your enemies mean staying in an abusive situation?
No. Loving an enemy means wanting their good, praying for them, and refusing revenge. It does not require staying somewhere unsafe or pretending harm did not happen. You can keep distance and still pray for someone.
What verses go with Luke 6:27-28?
Matthew 5:44 (love your enemies), Romans 12:14 (bless those who persecute you), and 1 Peter 3:9 (repay evil with blessing) are close companions.
