Luke 6:29

And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(29) And unto him that smiteth thee . . .—See Notes on Matthew 5:39-40.

And him that taketh away thy cloke.—St. Luke’s report of the maxim points to direct violence, St. Matthew’s to legal process. It is noticeable also that St. Luke inverts the order of the “cloke” and the “coat.” “If he takes the upper garment, give him the under one also.”

Benson Commentary

Luke 6:29; Luke 6:31. To him, &c. — You who hear my gospel ought to be patient under injuries, as well as benevolent toward the unthankful. To him that smiteth thee on thy cheek — that taketh away thy cloak — These seem to be proverbial expressions, to signify an invasion of the tenderest points of honour and property. Offer the other, &c. Forbid not thy coat — That is, rather yield to his repeating the affront, or injury, than gratify resentment in righting yourself, in any method not becoming Christian love. Give to every man — Friend or enemy, what thou canst spare, and he really wants; and of him that taketh away thy goods — By borrowing; ask them not again — If he be insolvent: or, do not exact them if it will distress the person concerned to repay thee: rather lose them, if consistent with other duties, than demand them by a legal process. Dr. Doddridge translates and paraphrases the clause thus: “From him that taketh away thy possessions, in an injurious manner, do not immediately demand them back in the forms of law, but rather endeavour, by gentle methods, to reduce the offender to reason.” The Greek expression, του αιροντος τα σα, here rendered, taketh away thy goods, properly signifies, taketh them away violently, or by fraud. But, as Dr. Macknight observes, “Whatever sense we put on our Lord’s precept, it must be understood with the limitations which common sense directs us to make; namely, that we give and lend freely to all who ask, or permit them to retain what they have unjustly taken, provided only that it be a thing of small account, which we can easily spare, and the persons who ask or take such things be in real necessity.” And as ye would that men should do unto you, &c. — See note on Matthew 7:12.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:27-36 These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even according to the mercy of our heavenly Father to us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See Matthew 5:39-40.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27-36. (See on [1585]Mt 5:44-48; [1586]Mt 7:12; and [1587]Mt 14:12-14.)

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Luke 6:27"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek,.... The right cheek,

offer also the other; the left cheek, by turning it to him, that he may smite that likewise, if he thinks fit: by which proverbial expression, Christ teaches patience in bearing injuries and affronts, and not to seek private revenge; but rather, suffer more, than indulge such a temper; and for the same purpose is what follows urged:

and him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also: the phrase is inverted in Matthew; See Gill on Matthew 5:39. See Gill on Matthew 5:40.

Geneva Study Bible

And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Luke 6:29. See on Matthew 5:39 f.

ἀπὸ τοῦ κ.τ.λ.] κωλύειν ἀπό τινος, to keep back from any one; Xen. Cyrop. i. 3. 11 : ἀπὸ σοῦ κωλύων; iii. 3. 51: ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσχρῶν κωλῦσαι; Genesis 23:6. Erasmus says aptly: “Subito mutatus numerus facit ad inculcandum praeceptum, quod unusquisque sic audire debeat quasi sibi uni dicatur.”

Expositor's Greek Testament

Luke 6:29 = Matthew 5:39-40 with some changes: τύπτειν for ῥαπίζειν, παρέχειν for στρέφειν; αἴροντος suggests the idea of robbery instead of legal proceedings pointed at by Mt.’s κριθῆναι; ἱμάτιον and χιτῶνα change places, naturally, as the robber takes first the upper garment; for Mt.’s ἄφες Lk. puts μὴ κωλύσῃς = withhold not (for the construction τινὰ ἀπό τινος κωλύειν, which Bornemann thought unexampled, vide Genesis 23:6, Sept[66]).

[66] Septuagint.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

29. offer also the other] The general principle “resist not evil” (Matthew 5:39; 1 Corinthians 6:7; 1 Peter 2:19-23) impressed for ever on the memory and conscience of mankind by a striking paradox. That it is only meant as a paradox in its literal sense is shewn by the fact that our Lord Himself, while most divinely true to its spirit, did not act on the letter of it (John 18:22-23). The remark of a good man on reading the Sermon on the Mount, “either this is not true, or we are no Christians,” need not be correct of any of us. The precepts are meant,

St Augustine said, more “ad praeparationem cordis quae intus est” than

“ad opus quod in aperto fit;” but still, the fewer exceptions we make the better, and the more absolutely we apply the spirit of the rules, the fewer difficulties shall we find about the letter.

thy cloke...thy coat] The himation was the upper garment, the shawl-like abba; the chiton was the tunic. See on Luke 3:11.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 29. - And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other. This and the following direction is clothed in language of Eastern. picturesqueness, to drive home to the listening crowds the great and novel truths he was urging upon them. No reasonable, thoughtful man would feel himself bound to the letter of these commandments. Our Lord, for instance, himself did not offer himself to be stricken again (John 18:22, 23), but firmly, though with exquisite courtesy, rebuked the one who struck him. St. Paul, too (Acts 23:3), never dreamed of obeying the letter of this charge. It is but an assertion of a great principle, and so, with the exception of a very few mistaken fanatics, all the great teachers of Christianity have understood it. Luke 6:29

Vincent's Word Studies

Cheek (σιαγόνα)

Lit., the jaw. The cheek is παρειά. The blow intended is not, therefore, a mere slap, but a heavy blow; an act of violence rather than of contempt.

Taketh away (αἴροντος)

Lit., taketh up, lifteth.

Cloke - coat

See on Matthew 5:40.