“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.”
- Date
- 1611
- Attribution
- Source identified
- Voice / speaker
- Reported speaker · Jesus
- English wording
- King James Version translation committees · from Biblical Hebrew / Aramaic / Koine Greek
What does this quote mean?
The teaching moves beyond merely withholding retaliation and asks for active goodwill toward opponents, making forgiveness part of a transformed response to hostility.
Where does it come from?
Matthew 5:44, King James Version; Jesus commands love, blessing, and good action toward enemies within the Sermon on the Mount.
Who voices the line?
Reported speaker · Jesus. Matthew 5:44 in the King James Version preserves this wording as reported speech. The biblical passage remains the textual source while Jesus is stored as the local reported speaker.
The source author and the local speaker can be different, especially in fiction, drama, dialogue and poetry.
How should this attribution be read?
This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.