Matthew 5:45 - Love Your Enemies (2024)

Verse (Click for Chapter)

New International Version
that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.New Living Translation
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.English Standard Version
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.Berean Standard Bible
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.Berean Literal Bible
so that you may be sons of your Father in the heavens. For He makes His sun rise on evil and good, and He sends rain on righteous and unrighteous.King James Bible
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.New King James Version
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.New American Standard Bible
so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.NASB 1995
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.NASB 1977
in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.Legacy Standard Bible
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.Amplified Bible
so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].Christian Standard Bible
so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.Holman Christian Standard Bible
so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.American Standard Version
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.Aramaic Bible in Plain English
So that you will become the children of your Father who is in Heaven, for his sun rises on the good and upon the evil and his rain descends on the just and on the unjust.Contemporary English Version
Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. Douay-Rheims Bible
That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. English Revised Version
that ye may be sons of your Father which 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.GOD'S WORD® Translation
In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust.Good News Translation
so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. International Standard Version
so that you will become children of your Father in heaven, because he makes his sun rise on both evil and good people, and he lets rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. Literal Standard Version
that you may be sons of your Father in the heavens, because He causes His sun to rise on evil and good, and He sends rain on righteous and unrighteous.Majority Standard Bible
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.New American Bible
that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.NET Bible
so that you may be like 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.New Revised Standard Version
so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.New Heart English Bible
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.Webster's Bible Translation
That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.Weymouth New Testament
that so you may become true sons of your Father in Heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked as well as the good, and sends rain upon those who do right and those who do wrong.World English Bible
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. Young's Literal Translation
that ye may be sons of your Father in the heavens, because His sun He doth cause to rise on evil and good, and He doth send rain on righteous and unrighteous.Additional Translations ...

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(45) That ye may be.--Literally, and with far fuller meaning, that ye may become. We cannot become like God in power or wisdom. The attempt at that likeness to the Godhead was the cause of man's fall, and leads evermore to a like issue; but we cannot err in striving to be like Him in His love. (Comp. St. Paul's "followers [or, more literally, imitators"] of God" in Ephesians 5:1.) And the love which we are to reproduce is not primarily that of which the children of the kingdom are the direct objects, showing itself in pardon, and adoption, and spiritual blessings, but the beneficence which is seen in Nature. Our Lord assumes that sunshine, and rain, and fruitful seasons are His Father's gifts, and proofs (whatever may be urged to the contrary) of His loving purpose. Here, again, the teaching of the higher Stoics presents an almost verbal parallel: "If thou wouldst imitate the gods, do good even to the unthankful, for the sun rises even on the wicked, and the seas are open to pirates" (Seneca, De Benefic. iv. 2, 6).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 45. - Parallel passage: Luke 6:35, which is more full, but hardly so original in form. That ye may be the children (ὅπως γένησθε υἱοί); sons (Revised Version); cf. ver. 9, note. The meaning of the clause is not certain. It may be:

(1) Love to enemies is the means whereby you may become possessed of the full privileges involved in the nature of sons. These privileges are more than the mere participation in Messianic glory (Meyer), and are rather all the blessings present and future which belong to sonship.

(2) Love, in order that on each occasion you may become in fact (almost our "show yourselves") sons of your Father, sons corresponding in ethical conduct to your position already received. Your Father. Not "the Father" (cf. ver. 16, note). Which is in heaven: for ὅτι The privileges generally, or the resemblance on each occasion, can only be obtained by behaviour similar to his, namely, kind treatment of those who injure you; for this is what he himself shows. He maketh his sun to rise (ἀνατέλλει). If we may lay stress on the Greek, our Lord expresses the popular notion of the sun ascending. It must, however, be remembered that the word he himself probably used was זרח in hiph. (, Pesh*to), which contains no thought of motion, but rather of appearance. Sun... rain. The two great sources of maintenance. On the evil and on the good... on the just and on the unjust. The first pair connotes, as it seems, the extreme of evil (Matthew 6:13, note) and good, in each case manifesting itself according to its opportunities; the second, the life and character as tried by the standard, especially the human standard, of just dealing. Notice how, by chiasm, the emphasis is laid on the ungodly alike at the beginning and at the end. Our Lord here brings out God's active love as seen in nature, nourishing and maintaining men, irrespective of the qualities of individuals and of their treatment of him and his laws. The thought is found elsewhere, e.g. in Seneca (vide Meyer), "Si deos imitaris, da et ingratis benelicia; ham et sceleratis sol oritur, et piratis patent maria" (cf. Bishop Lightfoot, on 'Philippians' ["St. Paul and Seneca," p. 281], for a collection of parallels to the sermon on the mount). Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

that
ὅπως (hopōs)
Conjunction
Strong's 3704: From hos and pos; what(-ever) how, i.e. In the manner that (as adverb or conjunction of coincidence, intentional or actual).

you may be
γένησθε (genēsthe)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

sons
υἱοὶ (huioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.