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A question, read by SIFT

Does Scripture teach to hate the sin but love the sinner?

Read by SIFT · 6 Nov 2026 About this reading

The short answer

DEVELOPMENT: written up by Claude from an OpenAI reading

Every verse in it is shown whole.

Scripture puts these two things side by side, in one verse:

"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." ()

Paul is writing to the saints in Rome. He tells them to love without pretending, and in the same breath to abhor evil. Then he says who that love reaches and what it does:

"Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not." ()
"Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men." ()
"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." ()
"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." ()
"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." ()

Jesus says the same thing directly. Speaking to His disciples, with the crowds there to hear, He says:

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." ()
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" ()
"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." ()
"But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you," ()
"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." ()
"Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." ()

So the love Jesus commands is not a feeling only. It blesses, prays, does good, lends, feeds and shows mercy, and it reaches people who are evil and unthankful. It copies the Father, who sends sun and rain on the evil and the good alike.

Two opposite mistakes fall at once. Love does not mean approving the wrong, because love:

"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;" ()

And hating evil does not mean wishing the wrongdoer harm:

"Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:" ()

Scripture teaches this: that those who follow Jesus are to hate what is sinful and to love the people who sin, seeking their good, enemies included. The two halves are commanded together.

The exact words "hate the sin" and "love the sinner" do not appear as phrases. Searches for each returned no results. That does not count against the teaching. Scripture teaches the substance in its own words.

The saying is a sound summary only with some limits made clear. It is not a complete account of everything Scripture says about love, hatred and judgment. In particular:

  • it does not mean God hates only sins and never sinners;
  • it does not mean love approves sin, or must keep close company with every wrongdoer;
  • it does not mean nobody faces judgment;
  • it does not replace particular commands God gave to particular people, such as prophets, rulers or ancient Israel.

Each of these is explained below, with the verses.

How it was read, replayed

Here the replay stays still. This is the reading in brief; every step of it is listed below, in order.

"Does Scripture teach to hate the sin but love the sinner?"
  • 22 minutes 50 seconds of reading, by an AI from OpenAI
  • 83 searches of Scripture
  • 1,969 verses opened, from 108 chapters
  • 15 false readings struck out
  • 7 conclusions handed on
  • then the answer, written by Claude in 8 minutes 32 seconds

The readings it struck out, and the verses each would break

  1. 1. Proverbs 24:24 · Proverbs 24:25 · Leviticus 19:17
  2. 2. Romans 12:14 · Romans 12:17 · Romans 12:20 · Proverbs 24:17
  3. 3. Luke 6:32 · Luke 6:35
  4. 4. Psalms 5:6 · Psalms 11:5
  5. 5. Romans 5:8
  6. 6. Psalms 139:22 · Psalms 15:3 · Psalms 15:4
  7. 7. John 15:20 · John 15:23 · John 15:24 · Matthew 5:44
  8. 8. Genesis 29:30 · Genesis 29:31 · Psalms 11:6 · Luke 14:33
  9. 9. 1 Corinthians 5:11 · 2 Thessalonians 3:15
  10. 10. 2 Corinthians 2:6 · 2 Corinthians 2:7 · 2 Corinthians 2:8
  11. 11. John 3:18 · John 3:36
  12. 12. 1 Corinthians 13:3 · Ephesians 4:31 · Luke 18:9
  13. 13. Romans 13:4 · Deuteronomy 17:4 · Deuteronomy 17:6
  14. The verses assign roles and evidence, rather than giving every person an unrestricted commission. 1 Corinthians 5:13
  15. 14. Jeremiah 7:16 · Jeremiah 14:11

Verdicts

  1. The practical substance is taught, with the stated limits
  2. Love rejects approval of sin and can require correction
  3. Love includes inward sincerity and practical good
  4. Sin includes personal wrong; the reader is not placed above sinners
  5. God truly loves sinful people; God also truly judges and hates wrongdoers
  6. Love does not require partnership in wrongdoing or unrestricted company
  7. Personal vengeance is forbidden; the passage still recognizes public judgment

The answer

How it was read, replayed from its own logs in the order it happened, at eight times its real speed (slower through its record, so each part can be read). It pauses once, at the reading's conclusions. The clock is the real time it happened.

What this reading did

  1. Scripture alone. By its words, and by the Greek and Hebrew behind them. The first search, hate the sin, found nothing.

  2. In its own context. Never a verse on its own: whole passages, and 43 whole chapters.

  3. False readings fall. It struck out 15 readings, each by a verse it would make false.

  4. Traceable. Every verse it quotes opens in its chapter, as the reading opened it.

The Greek and Hebrew word searches use data from STEP Bible.

I The short answer

What "evil" and "sin" mean here

The evil to be hated is not whatever a person happens to dislike. Scripture names it.

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." ()
"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." ()
"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate." ()

That last verse is spoken by wisdom, pictured as a person, calling out to people:

"Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man." ()
"I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions." ()

The prophets name the evil as oppression, bribes, false oaths and corrupt worship. Hating it means changing those things and setting up justice:

"For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right." ()
"Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph." ()
"I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies." ()
"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." ()
"These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:" ()
"And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD." ()

Micah speaks against rulers who turned this upside down:

"And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?" ()
"Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;" ()
"But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin." ()

The psalmist's hatred of evil sits beside his love for God's law, and includes his own steps:

"Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way." ()
"I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love." ()
"Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God." ()
"Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way." ()
"Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." ()
"I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love." ()
"I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments." ()

The English word "evil" is not always about sin. Here it describes diseases:

"And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee." ()

So the link between "evil" and "sin" comes from what the passages describe, not from the English word alone.

"Sin" is a person's wrongdoing, and "sinner" names a person in relation to that wrong. Telling them apart does not make the person innocent. The person stays responsible, as the sections on judgment below show.

Hating sin begins with one's own

The saying is never a way to sort the world into clean people and sinners. Paul speaks of hating wrong that he himself does:

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." ()
"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I." ()
"Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." ()
"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." ()
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" ()
"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." ()

The commandment Paul names comes from the law God gave Israel:

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." ()

The hated wrong here is the speaker's own. Sin living within does not make the evil unreal, or remove the need to be delivered. This reading does not settle every question about the stage of life of the "I" in Romans 7. The answer here does not depend on it.

Paul tells Titus that the teachers were once no better:

"To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men." ()
"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." ()
"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared," ()
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" ()

Mercy, not their own goodness, explains the change.

Jesus tells anyone who would correct another to look at themselves first:

"Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." ()
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." ()

And He speaks directly against using other people's sins to feel superior:

"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:" ()
"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." ()
"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." ()
"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." ()

Job, answering the LORD, abhorred himself and repented:

"Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." ()

Who is to receive this love

Enemies, before they change

Jesus does not wait for the enemy to become good or to love back first:

"For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" ()
"For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them." ()

Luke 6:35, quoted above, names the unthankful and the evil. Their reform is not made a condition for doing them good.

The law of Moses already required real help for someone who hates you:

"Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness." ()
"If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again." ()
"If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." ()

And Proverbs, after forbidding gladness at an enemy's fall (Proverbs 24:17), goes on:

"Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him." ()
"Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work." ()

The same passages also forbid helping the wicked as a false witness, and calling the wicked righteous. Kindness to an enemy and truthfulness about evil belong together.

Enemies of God too

It might seem that personal enemies are to be loved, while God's enemies may be left out. Jesus shows these are often the same people:

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." ()
"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." ()
"He that hateth me hateth my Father also." ()
"If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father." ()
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." ()

The people who persecute His disciples also hate Him and His Father. Matthew 5:44 commands love, blessing, good and prayer for persecutors exactly as persecutors. Opposing their evil still never means approving them or joining their cause.

Neighbours, strangers and all people

The command to love the neighbour stands beside the command to correct, and reaches the foreigner living among Israel:

"Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy." ()
"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." ()
"But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." ()

God, the impartial judge, also gives the stranger food and clothing, and tells His people to do likewise:

"For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:" ()
"He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment." ()
"Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." ()

Paul writes to the churches of Galatia:

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." ()
"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." ()
"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." ()

Some commands speak of love for "brethren", fellow believers, and their reach is kept as stated. John's letter shows that this love acts:

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." ()
"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." ()
"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" ()
"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" ()
"And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." ()

The wider duty toward enemies comes from Jesus' own command in Matthew 5 and Luke 6, and toward all people from Galatians 6:10. It is not drawn by stretching every use of "brother".

What love is, and is not

Love is not approval, and it can correct

The same law that forbids hating a brother in the heart commands rebuking him:

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." ()

Calling the wicked righteous is condemned, and honest rebuke is blessed:

"He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:" ()
"But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them." ()

Charity, as Paul describes it to the church at Corinth, is patient and kind, and (as 1 Corinthians 13:6 says) takes no joy in iniquity:

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up," ()
"Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;" ()

The risen Lord speaks the same way to a church:

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." ()

When Jesus ate with sinners, He explained it as a physician's work and a call to repentance, not as approval:

"And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples." ()
"And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" ()
"But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." ()
"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." ()

The words He quotes come from Hosea, where God is rebuking unfaithfulness, not excusing it:

"O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away." ()
"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." ()
"But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me." ()

Jesus' welcome of sinners is explained by joy over their turning back:

"Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him." ()
"And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." ()
"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." ()
"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." ()

Jesus loved a rich man while showing him what he lacked:

"Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me." ()
"And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." ()

When Jesus healed and when He refused to condemn, a word about sin followed:

"Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." ()
"This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not." ()
"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." ()
"When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" ()
"She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." ()

Neither passage calls the wrong good, or says no one may ever name wrongdoing. The Bible text used for this reading carries notes on the copying history of John 5:4 and John 8:1-11. Those notes are not part of the verse text, and nothing here rests on them. The answer does not depend on John 8: Romans 12:9, Leviticus 19:17 and Matthew 9:13 already join love and opposition to sin directly.

Love restores and rescues

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." ()
"For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." ()

Jude writes to believers about corrupt men who had crept in among them:

"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:" ()
"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." ()
"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." ()
"And of some have compassion, making a difference:" ()
"And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." ()

The garment is what is hated, and the person wearing it is to be pulled from the fire. Compassion and rescue go together with fear and hatred of what defiles. That does not erase the chapter's judgment on the ungodly.

Love is real inside, not a show

Love is more than words, and more than outward giving:

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." ()
"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." ()

Bitterness and malice are to go, and kindness is to take their place:

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" ()
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." ()
"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." ()

Paul writes the same to the Colossians:

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" ()
"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth." ()
"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;" ()
"And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." ()

Peter holds malice-free conduct, honour for everyone, and the punishment of evildoers together:

"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings," ()
"Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well." ()
"As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." ()
"Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king." ()

So "hating sin" can never be a holy-sounding name for spite.

"Love covereth all sins" does not mean hiding sin

"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins." ()
"He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth." ()
"He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool." ()
"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." ()
"A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife." ()

The same chapter that says love covers sins keeps reproof. So covering in love cannot mean denying that sin is wrong, or refusing all correction.

Hating evil deeds, without losing love

In Revelation 2, the risen Lord speaks to named churches. He commends hatred of evil deeds, and also warns:

"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:" ()
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." ()
"But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." ()
"But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication." ()
"So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." ()
"Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." ()

Hating evil deeds is praised. Leaving first love is rebuked. And the warning reaches the people who hold the false teaching, not only the teaching.

No revenge, but judgment is still real

Personal revenge is forbidden

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." ()

Paul is quoting the song Moses spoke to all Israel:

"To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." ()
"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand." ()
"Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people." ()
"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun." ()
"And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:" ()

The feeding of an enemy in Romans 12:20 comes from Proverbs:

"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:" ()
"For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee." ()

The bread and water are real help to the enemy. The picture of coals stays in the text as written. It is not a cover for secret revenge, because Romans 12:19 and 21 forbid avenging oneself and command overcoming evil with good.

Public judgment is not abolished

Leaving vengeance to God does not mean every human act of justice is forbidden. In the next chapter Paul writes:

"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:" ()
"For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." ()
"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." ()
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." ()

The line runs between personal retaliation, which is forbidden, and the role the passage gives to the ruler. It does not run between God acting and all human action.

Love, company and correction

Love does not require close company with every wrongdoer

Paul tells the church at Corinth to tell apart sinners outside the church and someone who calls himself a brother:

"I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:" ()
"Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world." ()
"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." ()
"For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?" ()
"But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." ()

Earlier in the chapter he gives the purpose:

"To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." ()

Withdrawal has a purpose of correction, and the person is still a brother:

"For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies." ()
"And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed." ()
"Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." ()

Paul also tells Titus:

"A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;" ()
"Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." ()

So withdrawing from company is not automatically malice. And keeping company with sinners outside the church is not wholly forbidden.

Correction must not go on forever

Discipline can be enough, and then love must be confirmed again:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:" ()
"For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you." ()
"Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many." ()
"So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow." ()
"Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him." ()

The text does not say whether this man is the same one as in 1 Corinthians 5, and nothing here assumes he is.

Jesus joins rebuke and forgiveness:

"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." ()
"And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." ()

The "if he repent" belongs to this instruction about a brother. It is not carried over into Jesus' separate command to feed and do good to an enemy, which has no such condition.

Helping someone's evil cause is not the same as helping them in need

A prophet rebuked King Jehoshaphat for "loving" the wicked. The setting shows what that meant. He had joined King Ahab in a war, against a prophet's warning:

"Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab." ()
"And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war." ()
"And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so." ()
"Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee." ()
"And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD." ()
"Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God." ()

What was condemned was joining a wicked undertaking. What Exodus 23:5 and Romans 12:20 command is relief of real need: returning property, lifting a burden, food and drink. Both stand. The alliance stays condemned, and the help stays required. Jehu's words do not forbid every kindness to every wrongdoer.

Ahab's hatred of the prophet who told him the truth matches what Amos describes:

"They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly." ()

One other place accuses someone of loving enemies. After his son Absalom died, Joab rebuked King David:

"And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;" ()
"In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well." ()
"Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now." ()

This is one man's reported accusation about how the king treated his loyal servants in his grief. It is not a rule against loving enemies.

Does God hate only the sin, and never the sinner?

The saying is sometimes taken to mean that. Scripture speaks of God's love and of God's hatred, and both must be kept.

God loves people while they are sinners

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." ()
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ()
"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." ()
"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." ()
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." ()
"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood," ()

God's love was shown while its receivers were sinners and enemies. Romans 5 does not say everyone has already escaped wrath.

God's love does not cancel judgment

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:" ()
"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." ()
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ()
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." ()
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." ()
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." ()
"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." ()
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." ()

The serpent Jesus mentions came in a time of both judgment and provision:

"And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died." ()
"Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people." ()
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." ()
"And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." ()

The comparison does not promise life to anyone apart from believing. John 3:19 also shows that the word "love" alone does not mean something good: men "loved darkness".

God wants the wicked to turn and live, and warns of death if they will not:

"So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." ()
"Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." ()
"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" ()
"Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;" ()
"If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die." ()

Neither half cancels the other. Peter says the same about God's patience:

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." ()
"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." ()
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." ()
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." ()
"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." ()

Peter's words about a thousand years connect with a psalm, spoken where wrath and mercy are both in view. His new heavens connect with Isaiah, where judgment on transgressors still stands:

"For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night." ()
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." ()
"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain." ()
"And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." ()

God's patience aims at repentance, and judgment is still announced. The exact details of the last things are not needed for this question and are not decided here.

God hates workers of iniquity

These are the hardest verses for the saying, and they must be shown plainly. They name people, not only acts:

"For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee." ()
"The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity." ()
"Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." ()
"But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." ()
"Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee." ()
"The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." ()
"Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." ()
"For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright." ()
"And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face." ()

The psalmist who prays this also depends on God's mercy himself (Psalms 5:7).

The list of what the LORD hates includes acts, the body parts that do them, and people:

"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:" ()
"A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood," ()
"An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief," ()
"A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." ()

Through Hosea, God speaks of hating His people because of what they did:

"Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor." ()
"They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins." ()
"All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters." ()
"My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations." ()

Through Jeremiah, God speaks of hating the people He calls dearly beloved, and of compassion afterwards:

"I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies." ()
"Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it." ()
"And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land." ()
"And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people." ()
"But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD." ()

In the law, God warns of real abhorrence, and also limits it so that His covenant is not broken:

"But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;" ()
"And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:" ()
"And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you." ()
"And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God." ()
"But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD." ()

The abhorrence is real, and so is the limit. Neither verse makes the other untrue.

This is not what Scripture teaches: that God hates only sins and never sinners. Psalms 5:5-6, 11:5 and Hosea 9:15 name people. Nor is this what Scripture teaches: that God's hatred leaves Him with no love or kindness toward sinful people. Romans 5:8, Luke 6:35 and John 3:16 say otherwise. Scripture says both things, each in its own words. It does not give a formula that assigns the same kind or measure of love to every person at every moment, and this answer does not invent one.

These verses describe what God does. They give no one the right to decide that a particular living person has been finally rejected by God. This answer says nothing about any person's standing before God.

Jacob loved, Esau hated

"The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi." ()
"I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob," ()
"And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness." ()
"Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever." ()

Paul quotes it:

"(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)" ()
"It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger." ()
"As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." ()
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid." ()

The earlier word was spoken to their mother, Rebekah:

"And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." ()

These passages speak of God's purpose, the two brothers, the peoples that came from them, and Edom's ruin. They give no command to readers to hate sinners. And the ruin in Malachi 1:3-4 shows that God's hatred here is not merely a mild lesser preference.

The psalmist who hated God's enemies

Some psalms speak of hating people, not only acts. That must not be explained away.

"Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men." ()
"For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain." ()
"Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?" ()
"I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies." ()
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:" ()
"And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." ()

The grounds are their opposition to God. The psalmist counts them enemies, is grieved, separates from them, and asks God to search his own heart.

Other psalms show the same rejection as refusing corrupt company and trusting God instead:

"I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers." ()
"I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked." ()
"Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:" ()
"But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me." ()
"I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD." ()

The same psalm admits the speaker's own iniquity:

"For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed." ()
"Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave." ()
"Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous." ()
"O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer." ()

Psalm 101 sings of mercy and judgment together, as the speaker resolves how his household and land will be kept:

"I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing." ()
"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me." ()
"He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight." ()
"I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD." ()

Psalm 15 gives the clearest guide. It describes the person who may dwell with God:

"LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?" ()
"He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." ()
"He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour." ()
"In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." ()

The upright person rejects a vile person as vile, and does no evil to the neighbour. Both belong to uprightness. And Luke 18:9-14, above, condemns the self-righteous contempt that trusts in itself and despises others. The difference lies in the grounds and the conduct: faithfulness to God and truth without harm, against self-exaltation.

So two misreadings of these psalms fall:

  • That every rejection of a person as wicked is the same sinful malice, so Psalm 139 must "really" mean hatred of acts only. Psalms 139:21-22 says "them" and "mine enemies", and Psalm 15:3-4 praises rejecting a vile person while doing no evil to a neighbour. This is not what Scripture teaches.
  • That Psalm 139 tells every reader to hate every sinner with personal malice, or to refuse good to God's enemies. Jesus' commands in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:35 make no exception for the evil, and Romans 12:21 says good must overcome evil. This is not what Scripture teaches.

What stands, with support in the text: opposition to God makes people enemies whose evil cannot be embraced, while good may still be done to them, and judgment left to God.

Two further limits stay in place. Psalm 139 is a prayer. It is not, on its own, a command for everyone to copy each feeling in it. But it is also not right to say the psalmist's prayer to be searched has already condemned this hatred as sin. The prayer does not say that.

Love for enemies, and prayers for judgment

Some psalms pray very severely against enemies. That must not be hidden. Psalm 109 is the clearest:

"They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause." ()
"For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer." ()
"And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love." ()
"Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand." ()
"Let his days be few; and let another take his office." ()
"Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow." ()
"Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children." ()
"Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart." ()
"Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul." ()
"Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:" ()
"Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice." ()

The same psalmist had shown love and good to these adversaries, and they repaid it with hatred. The reason given for the prayer is the persecutor's own refusal of mercy (verse 16). The repayment is asked of the LORD (verse 20). So these are prayers handing judgment to God. They are not instructions for the reader to be merciless toward children. They are also not mild disapproval.

Psalm 35 shows the same pattern: care for enemies in their sickness, and an appeal to God's righteous judgment:

"They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul." ()
"But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom." ()
"I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother." ()
"Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause." ()
"Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me." ()

Psalm 69 adds a plain appeal for wrath:

"They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away." ()
"Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them." ()
"For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded." ()

Jesus applies the words "without a cause" to Himself:

"But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." ()

Both Psalms 35:19 and 69:4 carry those words, and the answer does not need to decide which one Jesus meant. What they share is hatred without cause, not a command to hate back.

So love for an opponent does not mean denying that God judges. Romans 12 itself commands feeding the enemy while leaving wrath to God. But a particular prayer for judgment in a psalm is not the required wording of every disciple's prayer about every sinner. Jesus commands blessing and prayer for persecutors in Matthew 5:44, and Romans 12:14 says "curse not". Each passage is kept with its own speaker, occasion and reasons.

Prayer limited in a time of judgment

God once told Jeremiah not to pray for the people, in a time of announced judgment for breaking His covenant:

"Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD." ()
"And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;" ()
"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee." ()
"They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers." ()
"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble." ()
"Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins." ()
"Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good." ()
"When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." ()

So the saying cannot mean that every person in every role must always pray for every sinner to escape every judgment. But this was a particular instruction to Jeremiah about that people. It does not cancel Jesus' command to His hearers to pray for those who persecute them, and nothing here applies Jeremiah's commission to anyone today.

Jesus' prayer in John 17 is a different matter:

"I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." ()
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;" ()
"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." ()

That prayer names whom it is for. It is not a command to stop praying for persecutors, and its purpose reaches the world believing.

Commands given to particular people at particular times

Some commands in the law were given to Israel for a particular situation. Entering the land, Israel was told:

"When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;" ()
"And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:" ()
"For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." ()

The command names who receives it, the nations, the occasion and the reason. It does not mean all mercy toward sinners must be withheld, and it gives no reader a licence to harm a sinner. Both of those readings are ruled out.

The law's courts were told to "put away evil" by penalties carried out on guilty persons, after evidence:

"These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab." ()
"And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:" ()
"At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death." ()
"The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you." ()
"One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established." ()
"Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." ()
"And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear." ()
"Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you." ()
"Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you." ()
"If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you." ()

These verses assign roles and require evidence. They give no one a private commission to punish. Paul uses the same words, "put away", in 1 Corinthians 5:13, and the action he names for the church is removal from company, not the old penalties. Adding those penalties to his instruction would add something he does not say. The law Jesus' accusers appealed to in John 8 was read in its own setting in Deuteronomy 22.

So neither of two opposite ideas holds: that loving the neighbour abolishes every public penalty (Romans 13:4 says otherwise), or that an ancient penalty lets any reader carry it out privately.

No circumstance in the question suggests any special commission to judge or punish, and none is assumed.

"Hate" does not have only one meaning

The word "hate" is used in different ways, and no single meaning fits every place.

Sometimes it describes a comparison, as with Jacob's two wives:

"And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years." ()
"And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren." ()
"And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon." ()

Sometimes it describes the cost of following Jesus:

"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." ()
"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." ()
"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." ()
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." ()
"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." ()
"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." ()

This is about loyalty to Jesus above family and life itself. It is not a command to mistreat a relative, and Leviticus 19:17 and Matthew 5:44 still stand.

And sometimes it describes judgment, as in Psalms 11:5-6 and Hosea 9:15, above, which go well beyond "loving less".

So two flattenings fail. "Hate always just means love less" cannot account for the destruction in Psalms 11:6 or "I will love them no more" in Hosea 9:15. "Hate always means wanting to injure" cannot account for Luke 14's cross-bearing, or Jesus' commands to do good.

Ecclesiastes says there is a time to hate:

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" ()
"A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." ()
"I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life." ()

It does not name sinners as the ones to hate, and it gives no permission for whatever hostility a person might want. The same passage commends doing good.

Some word checks

Where words mattered, their use was checked across Scripture in the original languages. The word numbers were used only to find places to read, never as definitions. Some results:

  • "Perfect" in "perfect hatred" () does not by itself prove the hatred was morally flawless. The same Hebrew word is used for an "end" or boundary:

"After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib." ()
"He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end." ()
  • "Grieved" in Psalms 139:21 is not only pity. The same Hebrew word is used for being grieved at transgressors, and for loathing one's own sins:

"I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word." ()
"Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went." ()
"Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations." ()

There, Israel's change is grounded in God's name, not its own merit.

  • A word for "hatred" is also used for destructive treatment in a judgment God announces:

"For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:" ()
"And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms." ()
"I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols." ()

That is God's judgment, with its reason given. It is not an instruction for anyone to act that way.

  • A Greek word for love is also used for Judas's kiss:

"And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely." ()
"And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him." ()

So the word alone cannot prove sincere love. It is the plain sentence in Revelation 3:19 that shows love rebukes and chastens.

  • A Greek word for sin appears as "offence" in a question Paul asks, not as a finding that he sinned:

"Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?" ()
"Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth." ()
  • The Hebrew word behind "contemned" in Psalm 15:4 is used of God's judgment on those who despise Him, and also of contempt that is wrong, such as despising an old mother. It also describes what the afflicted suffer, and what God does not do to them:

"Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?" ()
"Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." ()
"Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old." ()
"But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people." ()
"For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard." ()

Who is despised, and why, decides each case. The shared word decides nothing by itself. The same chapter of Proverbs also says:

"Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long." ()
  • Other uses checked: a man owning his own "faults", a "sinful" generation, and a "hateful" bird in a picture of Babylon's fall, from which God's people are called out:

"Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:" ()
"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." ()
"And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." ()
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." ()

None of these gives anyone a reason to harm a sinner.

  • The word Paul uses for "abhor" in Romans 12:9 appears only there. Its meaning was taken from the verse itself and what follows: evil set against good, and evil overcome with good rather than repaid.

Who was speaking to whom

The letters were read from their openings, to be sure who wrote and to whom:

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God," ()
"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." ()
"Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother," ()
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:" ()
"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)" ()
"And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:" ()
"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother," ()
"To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." ()
"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;" ()
"To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour." ()
"The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write." ()

Jesus' teaching on loving enemies was given to His disciples, with the crowds present:

"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:" ()

Revelation names who speaks and explains its own symbols, so the words to the churches were not read through invented identities:

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:" ()
"John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;" ()
"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." ()
"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." ()

What the saying cannot mean

Each of these readings was tested and fails on the verses shown. They are tested readings, not beliefs anyone here is said to hold.

  1. Love means calling the wrong right, celebrating it, or never correcting it. Fails on Proverbs 24:24-25, Leviticus 19:17 and 1 Corinthians 13:6.
  2. Hating sin allows revenge, cursing, refusing an enemy food, or enjoying their fall. Fails on Romans 12:14, 17 and 20, and Proverbs 24:17.
  3. Love is owed only once the enemy turns good or loves back. Fails on Luke 6:32 and 35.
  4. God hates only acts, never sinners. Fails on Psalms 5:6 and 11:5.
  5. God cannot love anyone while they are sinful. Fails on Romans 5:8.
  6. Every rejection of a person as wicked is malice, so Psalm 139 means acts only. Fails on Psalms 139:22 and Psalms 15:3-4.
  7. Personal enemies are loved, but God's enemies may be shut out of that love. Fails on John 15:20, 23 and 24, with Matthew 5:44.
  8. "Hate" has one meaning everywhere, either "love less" or "wish harm". Fails on Genesis 29:30-31, Psalms 11:6 and Luke 14:33.
  9. Loving a sinner always means normal company, or withdrawing proves hatred. Fails on 1 Corinthians 5:11 and 2 Thessalonians 3:15.
  10. Correction allows refusing forever to forgive, comfort or confirm love. Fails on 2 Corinthians 2:6-8.
  11. Love means no one is condemned, or every sinner is already saved. Fails on John 3:18 and 36.
  12. Love can be an outward show that keeps malice or looks down on others. Fails on 1 Corinthians 13:3, Ephesians 4:31 and Luke 18:9.
  13. Neighbour-love abolishes every public penalty, or an ancient penalty lets anyone carry it out privately. Fails on Romans 13:4, and on Deuteronomy 17:4 and 6, which assign roles and require evidence.
  14. Everyone in every role must always pray for every sinner to escape every judgment. Fails on Jeremiah 7:16 and 14:11, which are particular instructions to Jeremiah and do not cancel Jesus' command to pray for persecutors.
  15. Jehu's rebuke forbids every kindness to every ungodly person. Fails on Exodus 23:5 and Romans 12:20. What was condemned was the war alliance.
  16. Luke 14 requires harming family. Fails on its own words about the cross and forsaking all, with Leviticus 19:17 and Matthew 5:44.
  17. Deuteronomy 7 means all mercy toward sinners must be withheld, or lets anyone harm a sinner. Fails on the command's own named recipients, occasion and reason, and on Matthew 5:44.
  18. Leviticus 26:30 cancels the promise in verse 44, or verse 44 makes the abhorrence unreal. Both verses stand.
  19. Romans 9:13 means every sinner must be hated by other people, or proves all hatred is mere preference. Romans 9 gives no such command, and Malachi 1:3-4 tells of real devastation.
  20. "A time to hate" permits any hostility a person wants. Ecclesiastes 3 names no such object or permission, and commends doing good.
  21. "Sinner" means other people, and one's own wrong can be ignored. Fails on Romans 7:15 and 19, Titus 3:3 and Galatians 6:1.

None of these failing makes the answer right on its own. The answer stands on its own support: Romans 12:9 and the commands that follow it, Jesus' commands in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:35, and the passages that join love with correction (Leviticus 19:17, 1 Corinthians 13:6, Matthew 9:13, Galatians 6:1, Jude 1:23).

The answer, gathered

Scripture commands those who follow Jesus to hate what is sinful, their own sin included, and to love people who sin, enemies included. That love is real inside, and it acts: it blesses, prays, does good, feeds, shows mercy, corrects, restores and rescues. It does not approve sin, take revenge, gloat, or look down on anyone. Scripture teaches this.

As a full account of love and hatred, the saying falls short. Scripture also says God hates workers of iniquity, and it records godly people rejecting the wicked as wicked. It allows corrective withdrawal and keeps God's judgment and public justice in place. It also records particular commands to particular people at particular times. None of this cancels the duty to do good to an enemy. And none of it gives anyone the right to say where any person stands with God.

About this reading

Nothing is left open on what was asked. The practical duty, and the wrong readings above, are settled by the verses shown. That firmness reaches as far as these conclusions. It is not a claim to have answered every possible question about every use of love, hatred or judgment in Scripture.

The reading searched by exact words, by ideas, and by the original-language words for hate, abhor, love, charity, sin and sinner, among others, in the King James Version. Some searches had hundreds of results. Not every result was opened, and not every page of the broadest searches was looked at. Results that were not opened are listed in the full record. They are not described here and are not counted for or against this answer. The whole of Scripture was not read. The conclusion rests on what Scripture plainly commands, not on a claim that no other verse exists. The reading also tested the strongest verses that seem to point the other way: God's hatred of persons, the psalmists' hatred of God's enemies, love condemned as alliance, separation from wrongdoers, hating family, and historical judgment commands.

No commentator, tradition or outside source was used. Scripture alone was read. The record's check of its own input files' checksums was not done independently.

No question about your own situation was needed to answer this. If you are facing a real decision, such as how to treat a particular person, or a question of discipline, justice or a relationship, the answer would turn on what is actually happening. That can be weighed against Scripture if you share it.

Every step of the reading

Everything the replay shows, as plain text, in the order it happened. Times are from the moment the reading began.

Every search, in order (83)
  1. words hate the sin 0 found
  2. words love the sinner 0 found
  3. all of hate + evil 12 found
  4. all of love + sinners 2 found
  5. word family hate 184 found
  6. word family sinner 537 found
  7. words love your enemies 2 found
  8. original word G3404 38 found hate 16 · hated 12 · hateth 10 · hating 2 · hateful 1 · hatest 1
  9. original word H8130 139 found hate 68 · hated 42 · hateth 20 · hatest 5 · enemies 3 · enemy 2 · foes 1 · hateful 1 · haters 1 · hating 1 · odious 1 · utterly 1
  10. original word H8130 (page 2) 139 found hate 68 · hated 42 · hateth 20 · hatest 5 · enemies 3 · enemy 2 · foes 1 · hateful 1 · haters 1 · hating 1 · odious 1 · utterly 1
  11. original word H8130 (page 3) 139 found hate 68 · hated 42 · hateth 20 · hatest 5 · enemies 3 · enemy 2 · foes 1 · hateful 1 · haters 1 · hating 1 · odious 1 · utterly 1
  12. words hatest 6 found
  13. words perfect hatred 1 found
  14. words abhor 18 found
  15. all of love + evil 9 found
  16. words without dissimulation 1 found
  17. words charity 24 found
  18. all of love + sin 0 found
  19. all of love + rebuke 3 found
  20. words hate thy brother 1 found
  21. words Vengeance is mine 1 found
  22. words thine enemy be hungry 1 found
  23. words love thy neighbour 8 found
  24. words love all 0 found
  25. words sin is 11 found
  26. words restore 39 found
  27. words not as an enemy 1 found
  28. words mercy, and not sacrifice 3 found
  29. words love him 16 found
  30. word family abhor 151 found
  31. word family love 1600 found
  32. original word G655 1 found abhor 1
  33. original word G25 (page 2) 109 found love 72 · loved 39 · loveth 20 · beloved 7 · thou 2 · doth 1 · have 1 · let 1 · lovedst 1 · us 1 · was 1 · ye 1
  34. original word G25 (page 3) 109 found love 72 · loved 39 · loveth 20 · beloved 7 · thou 2 · doth 1 · have 1 · let 1 · lovedst 1 · us 1 · was 1 · ye 1
  35. original word G26 106 found love 85 · charity 28 · charitably 1 · dear 1 · love's 1
  36. original word G26 (page 2) 106 found love 85 · charity 28 · charitably 1 · dear 1 · love's 1
  37. original word G26 (page 3) 106 found love 85 · charity 28 · charitably 1 · dear 1 · love's 1
  38. original word G268 45 found sinners 31 · sinner 12 · sinful 4
  39. words belongeth vengeance 1 found
  40. all of vengeance + recompence 3 found
  41. words the elder shall serve 2 found
  42. original word G25 109 found love 72 · loved 39 · loveth 20 · beloved 7 · thou 2 · doth 1 · have 1 · let 1 · lovedst 1 · us 1 · was 1 · ye 1
  43. all of company + fornicators 1 found
  44. words rejoice not 5 found
  45. words loveth the stranger 1 found
  46. words more than me 1 found
  47. words do good unto all 1 found
  48. words not willing 2 found
  49. words no pleasure 10 found
  50. words hateful 3 found
  51. words sin 389 found
  52. original word G266 151 found sin 94 · sins 78 · offence 1 · sinful 1
  53. original word H2399 33 found sin 22 · sins 8 · faults 1 · grievously 1 · offences 1
  54. words serpent of brass 1 found
  55. all of put + away + evil + among 6 found
  56. words thousand years 9 found
  57. words hate thine enemy 1 found
  58. words do not I hate 1 found
  59. words love them that hate 1 found
  60. words new heavens 3 found
  61. original word G266 (page 2) 151 found sin 94 · sins 78 · offence 1 · sinful 1
  62. words Thou shalt not covet 3 found
  63. words Paul, a servant 2 found
  64. all of Paul + Corinth 3 found
  65. all of Paul + Galatia 0 found
  66. all of Paul + Colosse 0 found
  67. words pray not 5 found
  68. words malice 6 found
  69. words sin no more 3 found
  70. all of love + neighbour + worketh 1 found
  71. original word G5368 21 found love 10 · loveth 6 · kiss 3 · loved 3 · lovest 3
  72. original word H8503 5 found end 2 · perfection 2 · perfect 1
  73. original word H8135 16 found hatred 13 · hated 2 · hatefully 1
  74. original word H6962 7 found grieved 3 · lothe 3 · little 1
  75. words hatred 18 found
  76. words forgive him 4 found
  77. words contemned 4 found
  78. words lothe 4 found
  79. words Moses spake unto all Israel 1 found
  80. words love covereth 1 found
  81. words despise 37 found
  82. words despised 59 found
  83. original word H959 41 found despised 26 · despise 6 · despiseth 4 · contemptible 3 · contemned 1 · disdained 1 · person 1 · scorn 1
Every time it opened Scripture (11 times, 1,969 verses)
  1. Matthew 5 48 Luke 6:12–49 38 Romans 12 21 Romans 5:1–11 11 Psalms 5 12 Psalms 11 7 Psalms 139 24 Proverbs 6:1–23 23 Proverbs 8 36 Psalms 97 12 Jude 1 25 Leviticus 19 37 2 Chronicles 18:28–34 7 2 Chronicles 19 11 Hosea 9 17 Malachi 1 14 Romans 9:1–24 24 Revelation 2:1–17 17 Revelation 3:14–22 9 1 Corinthians 13 13 Titus 3:1–11 11 417 verses, 417 new
  2. Matthew 9:1–17 17 Hosea 6 11 Proverbs 25:15–28 14 Deuteronomy 32:15–43 29 Genesis 25:19–34 16 Galatians 5:13–26 14 Galatians 6:1–10 10 2 Thessalonians 3 18 1 John 3 24 153 verses, 153 new
  3. Psalms 26 12 Psalms 31:1–8 8 Psalms 109 31 Psalms 119:97–144, 161–176 64 Luke 14:25–35 11 Matthew 10:24–42 19 Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 15 Exodus 23:1–9 9 Proverbs 24:10–29 20 2 Chronicles 18:1–27 27 216 verses, 216 new
  4. John 3 36 Ezekiel 33:1–20 20 1 Corinthians 5 13 1 John 4 21 Deuteronomy 10:12–22 11 Amos 5 27 Zechariah 8:9–23 15 Micah 3 12 2 Peter 3 18 Mark 10:17–31 15 Luke 15:1–10 10 198 verses, 198 new
  5. Numbers 21:1–9 9 Deuteronomy 17:1–13 13 Deuteronomy 19:15–21 7 Deuteronomy 21:18–23 6 Deuteronomy 22:13–30 18 Deuteronomy 24:1–7 7 Psalms 90 17 Isaiah 65:13–25 13 Isaiah 66:18–24 7 Genesis 29:15–35 21 Leviticus 26 46 Deuteronomy 7 26 Jeremiah 12 17 Psalms 101 8 2 Samuel 19:1–15 15 230 verses, 230 new
  6. Romans 7:7–25 19 Genesis 41:1–16 16 Mark 8:27–38 12 Colossians 3:1–17 17 Revelation 18:1–8 8 Job 42:1–9 9 81 verses, 81 new
  7. Exodus 20:1–21 21 Romans 1:1–17 17 1 Corinthians 1:1–9 9 Galatians 1:1–10 10 Colossians 1:1–14 14 Titus 1:1–5 5 Matthew 10:1–23 23 99 verses, 99 new
  8. Romans 13 14 2 Corinthians 1:1–11 11 2 Corinthians 2:1–11 11 Jeremiah 7 34 Jeremiah 11:1–17 17 Jeremiah 14 22 John 17 26 John 5:1–18 18 John 8:1–20 20 Luke 18:9–17 9 Ephesians 4:17–32 16 Ephesians 5:1–2 2 1 Peter 2:1–17 17 Deuteronomy 32:44–52 9 226 verses, 226 new
  9. John 15 27 Psalms 35 28 Psalms 69 36 Job 26 14 Nehemiah 3:17–27 11 Proverbs 10:1–22 22 Proverbs 15:13–23 11 Psalms 119:145–160 16 Ezekiel 36:16–38 23 Ezekiel 23:22–35 14 Mark 14:32–52 21 Luke 17:1–10 10 233 verses, 233 new
  10. Psalms 15 5 Deuteronomy 1:1–8 8 Psalms 31:9–24 16 Revelation 1 20 2 Corinthians 11:1–15 15 64 verses, 64 new
  11. 1 Samuel 2:27–36 10 Proverbs 23:15–25 11 Psalms 22 31 52 verses, 52 new
The reader's own notes (8)
  1. The reading will begin with the two permitted SIFT files, then gather and check the Scripture passages before writing the record and hand-off.
  2. The passages gathered so far command love toward enemies and rejection of evil. They also speak of God hating evildoers and of a psalmist hating God’s enemies. The reading is checking those harder passages before deciding how far the saying holds.
  3. Love in the gathered passages includes practical good, mercy, rebuke, and restoration. It does not require approving wrongdoing or keeping every kind of company. The hardest passages also prevent treating the saying as a complete account of God’s dealings with sinners.
  4. The record is being drafted with the supporting texts and the strongest objections side by side. It will distinguish the command to love enemies from the broader claim that Scripture condemns every kind of hatred directed toward a person.
  5. The read-back found two points that need fuller treatment: Psalm 109’s severe requests for judgment, and the distinction between personal revenge and judgment carried out by an appointed authority. Those checks will be added to the record before the hand-off is written.
  6. The added passages confirm that correction can require forgiveness, comfort, and renewed assurance of love. They also show that personal kindness can stand alongside public judgment. Psalm 15 adds a useful check: it pairs rejection of a vile person with a refusal to do evil to a neighbour.
  7. The revised record and its read-back are complete. The hand-off will carry forward the qualified verdict, the strongest objections, and the passages added during the final checks.
  8. Completed RECORD.md and HANDOFF.md. The record was read back and revised before the hand-off was written. All formatted Scripture quotations were checked against fetched whole verses.
What its record and its hand-off say, in their order

Question and permitted sources

Their words: “Does Scripture teach to hate the sin but love the sinner?”

No circumstance, named sinner, proposed action or disclosure of harm accompanies the question. The words ask whether Scripture teaches the joined claim, not merely whether one half can be found. The practical imperative is tested first. Because the saying can also imply that God hates only acts and never persons, that stronger claim is tested separately. Neither implication is assumed to be the person's intended belief.

Files opened for reading, in full and first, were:

  • /Users/Shared/before-god-sift-library-2026-11-03/runs/hate-sin-love-sinner/inputs/SIFT-v3-CORE.md
  • /Users/Shared/before-god-sift-library-2026-11-03/runs/hate-sin-love-sinner/inputs/SIFT-v3-POLICY.md

The stated hashes were supplied by the person; no independent hash command was permitted or run. All Scripture used below was obtained through the permitted KJV tool. Search results and word numbers supplied locations, not verse text or definitions. No outside source was read. The reading worked alone. The output files are named at the end.

From its hand-off to the writer

Their words

“Does Scripture teach to hate the sin but love the sinner?”

The question asks about the two directions together. No particular person, conduct, relationship or danger is disclosed. The answer must address the practical saying and distinguish it from the stronger claim that God never hates a sinner. The person has not asserted that stronger claim; it is a possible meaning to clarify, not an accusation to make.

The reading is complete within the conclusions below. RECORD.md contains the searches, opened and unread references, setting, whole-verse evidence, alternatives and final read-back revisions. No source outside the two permitted SIFT files and the permitted Scripture and search tools was used. Work was conducted alone. The supplied hashes were not independently verified.

Hard passages

God's hatred of persons

The strongest objection to an unrestricted version of the saying is direct and must appear plainly. Psalms 5 names all workers of iniquity and the bloody and deceitful man; Psalms 11 names the wicked and lover of violence. The judgment is on persons. Proverbs includes a false witness and one sowing discord in the list of what the LORD hates.

"The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity." ()
"Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." ()
"The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." ()
"Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." ()
"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:" ()
"A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." ()

These defeat God hates only the sin and never the sinner. They do not defeat the direct commands about the disciple's conduct toward enemies, and they do not erase love toward sinners in Romans 5:8. The answer must say both, without claiming an identical kind or measure of love toward every person at every moment.

The psalmist hates God's enemies

Psalm 139 speaks about people and counts them enemies. It is not enough to say it really hates only an abstract act.

"Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men." ()
"For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain." ()
"Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?" ()
"I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies." ()

The setting is opposition to God, with grief and a prayer for the speaker's own heart and ways to be examined.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:" ()
"And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." ()

Psalms 26 and 31 give related personal rejection through separation from corrupt company and contrary trust in the LORD.

"I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked." ()
"I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD." ()

The read-back added Psalm 15 to strengthen the positive account: the upright person rejects the vile person and does no evil to the neighbour. This is rejection of a person as wicked without making malice righteous. Luke 18, already quoted above, prevents turning this into self-righteous contempt.

"He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." ()
"He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour." ()
"In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." ()

The modifier perfect is not, by itself, a definition establishing moral flawlessness. The number and contexts were checked in the read-back; the argument rests on the whole passages. It is unsupported to say the psalm's request for self-searching has already declared this hatred sinful, and unsupported to turn the prayer into a universal command for personal retaliation. The practical obligation to do good to persecutors remains direct.

Love toward adversaries and severe judgment prayers

Psalm 109 itself reports love and good toward adversaries, while praying for their judgment. The severity must not be hidden.

"For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer." ()
"And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love." ()
"Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow." ()
"Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children." ()
"Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart." ()
"Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul." ()

The reason names the persecutor's mercilessness; the recompense is sought from the LORD. These are not instructions for the reader to become merciless to children. They are also not merely mild disapproval. Psalm 35, added during read-back, expressly reports caring for enemies when they were sick and appeals for God's righteous judgment. Psalm 69 adds an explicit appeal for wrath.

"They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul." ()
"But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom." ()
"I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother." ()
"Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me." ()
"Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them." ()
"For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded." ()

Thus love for an opponent does not entail denying all divine judgment. Conversely, a particular judgment prayer is not automatically the required wording of every disciple's prayer about every sinner: Jesus commands blessing and prayer for persecutors, and Romans prohibits cursing. Preserve the speakers, occasions, reasons and requested actions.

The read-back opened John 15 and both possible Psalm sources of its quotation. No claim that only one source must be intended is needed. Their shared content is causeless hatred, not a command to return that hatred.

"But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." ()
"Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause." ()
"They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away." ()
Jehu condemns loving those who hate the LORD

The question is addressed to Jehoshaphat after the military alliance with Ahab. The narrated action, not a presumed exception to all kindness, supplies its scope.

"And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war." ()
"Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee." ()
"And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD." ()

Joining a wicked undertaking is different from relieving an enemy's need. Exodus requires actual help to someone who hates the hearer.

"If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." ()

Neither passage is changed: the alliance remains condemned; the practical aid remains required.

Hatred, expulsion and love no more

Hosea's judgment addresses the people because of their wicked doings and cannot be reduced to dislike of an abstraction.

"All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters." ()
"My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations." ()

Jeremiah names a dearly beloved heritage given into enemies' hands and hated because it cries out against the LORD; later compassion is also stated.

"I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies." ()
"Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it." ()
"And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land." ()
"But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD." ()

Leviticus announces actual abhorrence and also limits the destruction so that God's covenant is not broken.

"And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you." ()
"And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God." ()

These defeat an unrestricted divine-attitude formula. They do not warrant deleting God's kindness to the evil or Christ's love shown to sinners, nor do they authorize the reader to decide that a particular living person has been finally rejected.

Jacob loved and Esau hated

Romans 9 quotes a passage actually opened in Malachi. Genesis supplies the earlier statement to Rebekah, also opened in its setting.

"(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)" ()
"As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." ()
"I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob," ()
"And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness." ()
"Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever." ()
"And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." ()

The passages concern God's purpose, the named brothers, the peoples and Edom's devastation. They do not command readers to hate all sinners, and the devastation prevents reducing every divine hatred to a harmless lesser preference.

Hatred of family and a time to hate

Luke's condition is costly allegiance, cross-bearing and forsaking all. Matthew's matching cross-and-following context names love of family more than Jesus. Neither supplies a command to mistreat a sinful relative.

"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." ()
"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." ()
"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." ()
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." ()
"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." ()

Ecclesiastes does not identify all sinners as the proper object of any desired hostility, and its setting includes doing good.

"A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." ()
"I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life." ()
Historical commands of destruction and removal

Deuteronomy 7 gives Israel a particular land-entry command concerning the named nations, with the stated danger of being turned to other gods. It is not a general commission to harm sinners.

"When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;" ()
"And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:" ()
"For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." ()

The judicial formula about putting away evil concerns guilty persons and assigned procedures. Its recurrence was checked across Deuteronomy 17, 19, 21, 22 and 24. Paul's use was read with Paul's own distinction between those within and without and the action concerning company.

"The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you." ()
"Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." ()
"And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear." ()
"Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you." ()
"Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you." ()
"If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you." ()
"For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?" ()
"But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." ()
Intercession expressly restricted

This was added during the required read-back and must qualify any statement that the saying is an exceptionless rule for every historical hearer and role.

"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee." ()
"They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers." ()
"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble." ()
"Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins." ()
"Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good." ()

The LORD identifies covenant rebellion and announced judgment. The prohibition is addressed to Jeremiah concerning this people. The answer must retain it without importing Jeremiah's particular commission into the questioner's circumstances.

John 17's different prayer is directed to the Father for those given to Jesus; its own continuation reaches future believers and states a purpose concerning the world. It is not a command that disciples stop praying for persecutors.

"I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." ()
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;" ()
"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." ()
Further read-back additions that must be carried forward

These checks refine the explanation or establish its setting. Their limits are part of the hand-off, even where the main verdict is already carried by the more direct commands.

The response to the disciplined man is grounded in expressed love and concern about excessive sorrow; the address was checked in the same letter.

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:" ()
"For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you." ()

The malice check in 1 Peter preserves honour for all, particular brotherhood love and the punishment of evildoers in one setting.

"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings," ()
"Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well." ()
"Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king." ()

The proverbs contrast strife-producing hatred with love and still affirm reproof. Therefore covering sins in love cannot mean calling sin good or prohibiting correction.

"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins." ()
"He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth." ()
"He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool." ()
"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." ()
"A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife." ()

Jesus' aid and refusal to condemn are followed by instruction against sin. These reinforce the conjunction already explicit in Romans 12 and Leviticus 19; the verdict does not depend on John 8 alone. The tool's copy-history notes are not verse text or independent evidence used in the reading.

"Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." ()
"This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not." ()
"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." ()
"She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." ()

The H8503 word check prevents assigning moral approval simply from perfect in Psalm 139. Its other fetched uses concern an end in the building and boundary settings; the number supplies locations, not an imported definition.

"After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib." ()
"He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end." ()

The H6962 check prevents softening grieved into only pity: the word also stands in a passage about loathing personal wrongdoing. Ezekiel addresses Israel and explicitly grounds its change in God's name, not earned merit.

"I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word." ()
"Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went." ()
"Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations." ()

The H8135 occurrence under hatefully is destructive treatment within Ezekiel's announced judgment. It does not make the same action a general instruction to a private reader. The passage's alienation and causal explanation were retained.

"For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:" ()
"And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms." ()
"I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols." ()

The G5368 occurrence under kiss in the betrayal report shows why an index cannot certify sincere motive or define each use. The explicit sentence in Revelation, not the number alone, establishes that love can rebuke and chasten.

"And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely." ()
"And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him." ()
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." ()

The G266 occurrence under offence is a rhetorical question, not an assertion that freely preaching the gospel was sinful.

"Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?" ()
"Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth." ()

The H959 check at Psalm 15 was compared with divine disesteem of those dishonoring the LORD, rejected contempt toward an old mother, and the afflicted person's experience. The grounds, objects and asserted conduct govern each use; the shared word alone supplies no moral verdict.

"Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?" ()
"Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." ()
"Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old." ()
"But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people." ()
"For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard." ()

The fuller Psalm 31 context keeps the speaker's own iniquity, prayer against wicked lying lips and general exhortation together. This qualifies any portrayal of the speaker as morally untouched.

"For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed." ()
"Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave." ()
"O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer." ()

The Deuteronomy context additions establish Moses speaking the law and the song to Israel; they do not silently transfer every assigned role to a later reader.

"These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab." ()
"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun." ()
"And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:" ()

Revelation 1 identifies the revelation, John, the risen speaker and the explained symbols. The church-addressed hate-and-love passages were therefore not interpreted through invented identities.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:" ()
"John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;" ()
"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." ()
"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." ()

Ruled out

Each rejected reading below is tied to the whole verse that defeats it. These are interpretations being tested, not beliefs attributed to the questioner.

  1. Love the sinner means call the wrong righteous, celebrate it or avoid correction.

"He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:" ()
"But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them." ()
"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." ()
  1. Hating sin authorizes malicious retaliation, cursing, refusing an enemy's needed food or delighting in the person's fall.

"Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not." ()
"Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men." ()
"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." ()
"Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:" ()
  1. Love is owed only after the enemy becomes good or returns love.

"For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them." ()
"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." ()
  1. God hates only impersonal acts and never sinners.

"Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." ()
"The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." ()
  1. God cannot love anyone while the person is sinful.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ()
  1. Every adverse rejection of a person as wicked is malicious, or Psalm 139 can be rewritten as hatred only of acts.

"I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies." ()
"He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour." ()
"In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." ()

Psalm 139's declaration alone is not treated as a universal command to reproduce every feeling. Psalm 15 supplies explicit positive support for rejecting a vile person while doing no evil to the neighbour.

  1. Personal enemies receive love but God's enemies may be excluded from it merely because they hate God. Jesus identifies overlapping people: those persecuting his disciples also hate him and his Father.

"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." ()
"He that hateth me hateth my Father also." ()
"If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father." ()
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" ()
  1. All hatred has one meaning, invariably loving less, or invariably a desire to injure.

"And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years." ()
"And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren." ()
"Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." ()
"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." ()

Genesis supplies a comparative family setting; Psalms supplies destructive judgment; Luke supplies costly allegiance. A single flattened definition does not preserve these contexts.

  1. Loving a sinner requires normal company in every case, or withdrawing company proves hatred.

"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." ()
"Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." ()
  1. Correction permits an indefinite refusal to forgive, comfort or confirm love after the stated punishment is sufficient.

"Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many." ()
"So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow." ()
"Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him." ()
  1. Love means nobody faces condemnation or every sinner is already saved.

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." ()
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." ()
  1. Love is an outward performance that can retain malice or a self-exalting attitude toward other people.

"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." ()
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" ()
"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:" ()
  1. Neighbour-love abolishes every public penalty, or an ancient penalty authorizes any reader to carry it out privately.

"For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." ()
"And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:" ()
"At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death." ()

The verses assign roles and evidence, rather than giving every person an unrestricted commission. Paul's specified church action is removal from company.

"But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." ()
  1. Every person in every role is required to intercede for every sinner's exemption from every announced judgment.

"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee." ()
"Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good." ()

These are particular instructions to Jeremiah under the declared judgment, not a license to cancel Jesus' command to his hearers to pray for their persecutors.

Verdicts

The practical substance is taught, with the stated limits

The answer should first give the positive teaching: sincere love and abhorrence of evil are commanded together, and the people to receive good include enemies. Then the verdict can be stated firmly: as a direction for Jesus' followers to reject sin and seek the sinner's good, the saying expresses what Scripture teaches. It is an incomplete summary if made a rule replacing every statement about hatred, judgment or fellowship.

"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." ()
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" ()
"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." ()

The conjunction is explicit in Romans 12:9. Romans 12 continues from love and abhorrence to persecutors, enemies, food and overcoming evil with good. Luke names the recipients as unthankful and evil; their prior reform is not inserted as a condition for doing this good.

"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." ()
"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." ()
Love rejects approval of sin and can require correction

Leviticus joins prohibition of heart-hatred to rebuke. Charity does not rejoice in iniquity. Jesus' explanation of company with sinners includes mercy and repentance. The source quotation was checked in Hosea 6, where covenant treachery is rebuked rather than approved.

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." ()
"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;" ()
"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." ()
"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." ()

Meek restoration, compassion and rescue supply positive examples of love opposing the wrong. The person being rescued must not be confused with the contamination being hated.

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." ()
"And of some have compassion, making a difference:" ()
"And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." ()
Love includes inward sincerity and practical good

Love is more than a verbal profession and more than an outward gift offered without charity. The answer must not redefine it as outward niceness while preserving spite.

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." ()
"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." ()
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" ()
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." ()
Sin includes personal wrong; the reader is not placed above sinners

The definition and the sinner's responsibility stand together. The reading gives no verdict on a living person's standing before God.

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." ()
"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I." ()
"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." ()
"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." ()

The read-back added Jesus' explicit rebuke of self-righteous contempt. The answer must not encourage the reader to use the saying to despise other people while trusting in personal righteousness.

"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:" ()
"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." ()
"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." ()
God truly loves sinful people; God also truly judges and hates wrongdoers

The conclusion is not earned by denying either statement. Romans 5 says love was shown while its recipients were sinners; it does not say every person has already escaped wrath. Psalms 5 and 11 name people, not only their acts, as objects of hatred.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ()
"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." ()
"The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity." ()
"The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." ()

John 3 places the giving of the Son and condemnation of unbelief together. Ezekiel states both the wicked person's turning and life as desired, and death if the person refuses to turn. Love does not cancel the conditions or personal responsibility.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ()
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." ()
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." ()
"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" ()
"Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." ()
Love does not require partnership in wrongdoing or unrestricted company

The text distinguishes the sinner outside the community from a person called a brother in the specified wrong. Corrective withdrawal can coexist with brotherly admonition.

"Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world." ()
"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." ()
"And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed." ()
"Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." ()

The read-back added the necessary other direction: punishment can become sufficient and must give way to forgiveness, comfort and confirmation of love. The unnamed man is not assumed to be identical with the offender of 1 Corinthians 5.

"Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many." ()
"So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow." ()
"Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him." ()

Jesus expressly commands forgiveness when the trespassing brother repents. That condition belongs to this instruction; it must not be transferred to the distinct enemy-kindness command.

"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." ()
"And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." ()
Personal vengeance is forbidden; the passage still recognizes public judgment

The read-back added Romans 13 to prevent the mistaken claim that every human exercise of judgment is forbidden. Romans 12 prohibits self-vengeance; Romans 13 assigns the ruler a different role and also repeats neighbour-love.

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." ()
"For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." ()
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." ()

The source about vengeance was read in Deuteronomy 32, and the hungry-enemy source in Proverbs 25. The coals image is retained; it is not made a pretext for covert revenge against the command to overcome evil with good.

"To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." ()
"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:" ()
"For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee." ()

Open

Nothing is left open concerning the practical duty and the false expansions tested in the record. The firmness is limited to the stated conclusions, not a claim to have read the whole canon or resolved every possible question about every historical judgment.

The answer should not claim that the exact wording's absence disproves its substance. Searches for hate the sin and love the sinner returned no hits; broader wording and concept searches supplied the teaching and its qualifications. Unread hits remain explicitly marked in the record and are not described as if opened. No unperformed search is called Scripture's silence.

No question needs to be asked to answer the question as given. A circumstance-specific decision about discipline, justice or a particular relationship would require the actual circumstance; none is invented here.