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Exodus 23:4,5
If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again…

Deuteronomy 32:25
The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the sucklingalso with the man of gray hairs.

2 Samuel 13:22,28
And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar…

thou shalt

Matthew 5:43
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Matthew 19:19
Honour thy father andthy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Matthew 22:39,40
And the secondis like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself…

but love your neighbor as yourself
This phrase is foundational to both Jewish and Christian ethics. It encapsulates the principle of empathy and selflessness, urging individuals to treat others with the same care and respect they desire for themselves. Jesus cites this command as the second greatest commandment, alongside loving God (Matthew 22:37-39). The term "neighbor" extends beyond immediate kin to include all members of the community, and in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus expands this definition to include all humanity. This command challenges believers to transcend personal biases and prejudices, fostering a spirit of unity and compassion.

I am the LORD
This declaration underscores the divine authority behind the command. It serves as a reminder that the laws given to Israel are not merely societal norms but are rooted in the character and will of God. The phrase "I am the LORD" appears frequently in Leviticus, reinforcing the covenant relationship between God and His people. It calls the Israelites to obedience, not just out of duty, but as an act of worship and reverence for their covenant-keeping God. This divine signature assures the Israelites that their moral and ethical conduct is a reflection of their identity as God's chosen people, set apart for His purposes.

God begins the command with a negative: “Do not seek revenge.” The instruction is straightforward and literal—personal retaliation is off-limits.

•Romans 12:19 echoes this: “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.’”

•Deuteronomy 32:35 reminds us that vengeance belongs to Him alone.

•Proverbs 20:22 adds, “Do not say, ‘I will avenge this evil!’ Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.”

The principle is simple: trust God’s justice rather than taking matters into your own hands. Civil authorities may punish wrongdoing (Romans 13:4), but personal payback has no place among God’s people.

Revenge is an outward act; grudges are the silent, smoldering version inside the heart. Both are forbidden.

•Ephesians 4:26-27 warns, “Be angry, yet do not sin. Do not let the sun set upon your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold.”

•Colossians 3:13 urges, “Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

•Hebrews 12:15 cautions that bitterness “springs up” to trouble many.

Biblically, harboring resentment is spiritual quicksand. Letting it go protects both relationships and fellowship with God (1 John 4:20-21).

Instead of revenge or resentment, God calls for active love.

• Jesus spotlights this verse as the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39;Mark 12:31).

• Paul sums up the entire Law here: “For the whole law is fulfilled in this one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14).

• James calls it “the royal law” (James 2:8).

Loving “as yourself” assumes we instinctively look after our own welfare; God says to extend that same care outward—practically, sacrificially, consistently.Luke 10:29-37’s Good Samaritan fleshes it out: love crosses ethnic, social, and personal boundaries.

The command ends with God’s signature. It’s more than punctuation; it’s the reason.

•Exodus 20:2 introduced the Ten Commandments the same way: authority flows from who He is.

•Malachi 3:6 declares, “I, the LORD, do not change,” grounding every moral demand in His unchanging nature.

• Jesus links love and obedience: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

Because He is the LORD—Creator, Redeemer, Covenant-Keeper—we submit to His standards even when our feelings protest.

Leviticus 19:18 forbids personal payback, roots out simmering resentment, and replaces both with a proactive, self-denying love that mirrors the care we naturally show ourselves. The authority of the LORD Himself seals the command, leaving no loophole: obey because He said so, trust His justice, and let His love flow through you to every neighbor.

Nor bear any grudge.--The law goes further still. It enjoins that the injured man is to banish from memory the injury he has suffered, though the offender has made no reparation. The spiritual authorities during the time of Christ regarded the simple reference to the injury when a kindly act is performed to our adversary as a violation of this injunction. They illustrated it by the following example. When an adversary applies to you to lend him something, and you actually comply with his request, but in so doing you say, "I lend it you, I will not act as you have acted, for you have refused to lend me," this is a violation of the command not to bear any grudge. "He who at the reconciliation with his adversary readily forgives his transgressions, his own trespasses will also be readily forgiven in the day of judgment," is the oft-repeated precept of the sages during the second Temple. Again, "He who suffers injuries and does not return injury for injury, he who is reviled? 1 does not revile again, fulfils acts of love and rejoice in suffering; of him it is said, 'Those that love him are like the sun, which comes forth in its might from all dark clouds beaming with light'" (Judges 5:31).

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.--This sublime precept formed the centre around which clustered the ethical systems propounded by some of the most distinguished Jewish teachers during the second Temple. When Hillel was asked by one who wished to learn the sum and substance of the Divine Law in the shortest possible time, this sage replied by giving a paraphrase of the precept before us in a negative form, "What thou dost not wish that others should do to thee, that do not thou to others; this is the whole Law, the rest is only its interpretation. Now go and learn." Christ gives it in the positive form (Matthew 7:12;Luke 6:31;Romans 13:8-10). . . .