431"You have heard that it was said, 2'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44
But I say to you, 3Love your enemies and 4pray for those who persecute you,
45
5so 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 6sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46
7For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47
And if you greet only your brothers,[a] what more are you doing than others? Do not even 8the Gentiles do the same?
48
9You therefore must be 10perfect, 11as your heavenly Father is perfect.
[a].
Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated "brothers") refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.