I, Wisdom, dwell in shrewdness, and cunning knowledge I find. Fear of the LORD is hating evil. Proverbs 8:12-13a Robert Alter Hating evil – Doing good isn’t quite enough. It matters, of course. Micah makes that clear: “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and…
For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. Titus 3:3 NASB Spending our life – “To behave in a certain way.” That’s the meaning of Paul’s Greek word diagō. It’s about a lifestyle, a constant behavior, a way of conducting oneself. The verb is…
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. Romans 7:14-15 NASB Hate – Step back and think about this verse. Is it really possible…
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? Psalm 139:21 NASB Hate– When is hate a virtue? You might reply, “When we hate sin.” But typically we add, “but love the sinner.” Ah, if it were only that simple. You see, the verb used here, śānēʾ, doesn’t make such…
He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently. Proverbs 13:24 NASB Rod – God’s idea of training involves correction, sometimes correction that stings. We, of course, are more civilized. Who would ever consider punishing a child with a rod these days? Probably only those who risk being taken…
See my enemies who are many and with outrageous hatred despise me. Psalm 25:19 Robert Alter translation Despise – Buried in the Hebrew text is a powerful repetition not evident in Alter’s translation (but clear in the ESV). “Hatred” and “despise” are from the same Hebrew root, sane. To hate describes an emotional reaction of…
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26 NASB Hate – What in the world can Yeshua possibly mean by this statement? Taken at face value, it has…
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. Proverbs 25:21-22 NASB Your enemy – “Fight fire with fire.” That’s the common point of view. What someone dishes out…
“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.” John 12:25 Hates – In Greek, the root is miseo. It usually implies active ill will toward someone or something. It is the opposite of agapao (to love, cf. Matthew 5:43). This is…
“And you shall remember there your ways and all your deeds by which you have been defiled in them. And you will hate yourselves to your faces for all your evils which you have done.” Ezekiel 20:43 Hate – In a world governed by mantras of self-esteem, Ezekiel would probably be fired. Actually, he was. …
