Matthew 5:44

But I say to you, love your enemy and ¹  pray for those who persecute you,

Ex 23:4,5; 2Ki 6:22; 2Ch 28:9-15; Ps 7:4; Ps 35:13,14; Pr 25:21,22; Lu 6:27,28,34,35; Lu 23:34; Ac 7:60; Ro 12:14,20,21; 1Co 4:12,13; 1Co 13:4-8; 1Pe 2:23; 1Pe 3:9

¹ tc Most mss ([D] L [W] Θ Ë¹³ 33 Ï lat) read “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you,” before “those who persecute you.” But this is surely a motivated reading, importing the longer form of this aphorism from Luke 6:27-28. The shorter text is found in א B ˹ pc sa, as well as several fathers and versional witnesses.