Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
This verse comes from Leviticus, one of the oldest books in the Bible, which contains laws God gave to the ancient Israelite people about how to live together as a community set apart for him. In this passage, God directly addresses two very human impulses: the desire to get back at someone who wronged you, and the habit of quietly holding onto bitterness toward them. The alternative to both is not mere neutrality — it is active love, held to the same standard you would naturally apply to yourself. The closing phrase "I am the Lord" was a common way of sealing a command with divine authority in this literary context. Jesus later quoted this verse as one of the two greatest commandments in all of scripture.
God, there are grudges I have held so long they feel like furniture — I have stopped noticing them. Soften what has hardened in me. Help me see the people I struggle to love the way you see them, and the way you still see me on my worst days. Amen.
"Love your neighbor as yourself." We have heard it so many times it slides right off us. But notice what comes just before it — the actual human impulses God is addressing: revenge and grudges. Not theoretical sins. Not edge cases. These are the things you feel at 6 PM when you are still replaying a conversation from that morning. The person who undermined you in the meeting. The friend who didn't show up when it mattered. The family member who said the thing they can never unsay. God is not asking you to pretend none of that happened. He is asking you to choose something harder than either revenge or cold distance: actual love. Here is the uncomfortable part — the standard is not just "be nice" or "don't retaliate." It is *as yourself*. The way you automatically give yourself the benefit of the doubt, make excuses for your own bad days, hope for your own good future — that is the bar. Most of us are remarkably generous with ourselves and far stingier with the people who have hurt us. What would it mean this week to extend to one difficult person the same grace you would want extended to you on your worst day? That is the question this verse leaves sitting on the table.
What is the actual difference between "not seeking revenge" and actively loving someone? Are those the same thing, or is love something significantly more?
Who in your life is hardest for you to love "as yourself" right now, and what makes that relationship so difficult to navigate?
Is it possible to genuinely love someone while also holding them accountable for how they have treated you — or does real love require letting things go entirely?
Think about a recent conflict: in what ways did you treat the other person compared to how you would have wanted to be treated if the roles were reversed?
What is one concrete thing you could do this week to move from passive non-retaliation toward something that actually looks like love for someone who has made themselves hard to love?
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 7:12
And the second is like, namely this , Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:31
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luke 10:27
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Romans 13:9
And the second is like unto it , Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 22:39
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:40
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:34
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Galatians 5:14
You shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor (acquaintance, associate, companion) as yourself; I am the LORD.
AMP
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
ESV
'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.
NASB
“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
NIV
You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
NKJV
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
NLT
"Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people. "Love your neighbor as yourself. I am God.
MSG