Matthew 5:42

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Give	δός, dos	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
to him that asketh	αἰτοῦντί aitounti	G154	to ask (in genitive case) · verb — present active participle, dative singular masculine
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
from	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
him that would	θέλοντα thelonta	G2309	to determine (as an active option from subjective impul… · verb — present active participle, accusative singular masculine
borrow	δανίσασθαι danisasthai	G1155	to loan on interest · verb — aorist middle infinitive
of thee	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
turn	ἀποστραφῇς.¶ apostraphēas	G654	to turn away or back (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist passive subjunctive, 2nd person singular
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
thou away	ἀποστρέφω apostréphō	G654	to turn away or back (literally or figuratively)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Hebrews 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Luke 6:30-36 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Psalms 112:5-9 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us ri…
Psalms 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
1 John 3:16-18 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Deuteronomy 15:7-14 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt n…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

In these verses the law of retaliation is expounded, and in a manner repealed. Observe, I. What the Old Testament permission was, in case of injury; and here the expression is only, Ye have heard that is has been said; not, as before, concerning the commands of the decalogue, that it has been said by, or to, them of old time. It was a command, that every one should of necessity require such satisfaction; but they might lawfully insist upon it, if they pleased; an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. This we find, Exo 21:24; Lev 24:20; Deu 19:21; in all which places it is appointed to be done by the magistrate, who bears not the sword in vain, but is the minister of God, an avenger to exe…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:42

Give to him that asketh thee--The sense of unreasonable asking is here implied (compare Luk 6:30). and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away--Though the word signifies classically "to have money lent to one on security," or "with interest," yet as this was not the original sense of the word, and as usury was forbidden among the Jews (Exo 22:25, &c.), it is doubtless simple borrowing which our Lord here means, as indeed the whole strain of the exhortation implies. This shows that such counsels as "Owe no man anything" (Rom 13:8), are not to be taken absolutely; else the Scripture commendations of the righteous for "lending" to his necessitous brother (Psa 37:36; Psa 112:5; L…

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John Gill on Matthew 5:42

Give to him that asketh thee,.... To every man, Luke 6:30 whether Jew or Gentile; friend or foe; believer or unbeliever; a good, or a bad man; worthy or unworthy; deserving or not, that asketh alms, whether food or money; give it freely, readily, cheerfully, according to your abilities, and as the necessity of the object requires: for such rules are always supposed, and to be observed; and though all are to be relieved, yet the circumstances of persons, and their relation to men, are to be considered, and special regard is to be had to the household of faith. And from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away; refuse him not, turn not away from him with a frown, or without speaking to hi…

The Church Fathers

But also to every one who asks me I will give on the plea of charity, not under any intimidation. Who asks? He says.
— Tertullian, On Flight in Persecution

It is the custom of simplicity not to think and then to give, but to all men it divideth and giveth abundantly. And again, our Lord taught this simplicity when He said, "Give unto every one that asketh of thee."
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity

If we understand this only of alms, it cannot stand with the estate of the most part of men who are poor; even the rich if they have been always giving, will not be able to continue always to give. But it maybe understood of the wealth of doctrine: wealth which never fails but the more of it is given away, the more it abounds.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Debt — The Mosaic law encouraged the practice of lending (Deut. 15:7; Ps. 37:26; Matt. 5:42); but it forbade the exaction of interest except from foreigners. Usury was strongly condemned (Prov. 28:8; Ezek.…
Sermon on the mount — After spending a night in solemn meditation and prayer in the lonely mountain-range to the west of the Lake of Galilee (Luke 6:12), on the following morning our Lord called to him his disciples, and…
Alms · 14:28,29;15:7-11; — 14:28,29;15:7-11;
Beneficence · 18:5,7-9; — 18:5,7-9;
Borrowing · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Creditor · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Judaism · .To make room for the Gospel — .To make room for the Gospel
Kindness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Lending · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Liberality · 3:10-12; — 3:10-12;
Meekness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor · 7:10; — 7:10;

Matthew 5:42

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:42

John Gill on Matthew 5:42

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 5:42

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:38-42

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 5:42

John Gill on Matthew 5:42

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 5:42

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 5:42