Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
But (plhn). Plain adversative like plhn in verse Luke 6:24. Never despairing (mhden apelpizontev). Mhden is read by A B L Bohairic and is the reading of Westcott and Hort. The reading mhdena is translated "despairing of no man." The Authorized Version has it "hoping for nothing again," a meaning for apelpizw with no parallel elsewhere. Field (Otium Nor. iii. 40) insists that all the same the context demands this meaning because of apelpizein in verse Luke 6:34, but the correct reading there is elpizein, not apelpizein. Here Field's argument falls to the ground. The word occurs in Polybius, Diodorus, LXX with the sense of despairing and that is the meaning here. D and Old Latin documents have nihil desperantes, but the Vulgate has nihil inde sperantes (hoping for nothing thence) and this false rendering has wrought great havoc in Europe. "On the strength of it Popes and councils have repeatedly condemned the taking of any interest whatever for loans. As loans could not be had without interest, and Christians were forbidden to take it, money lending passed into the hands of the Jews, and added greatly to the unnatural detestation in which Jews were held" (Plummer). By "never despairing" or "giving up nothing in despair" Jesus means that we are not to despair about getting the money back. We are to help the apparently hopeless cases. Medical writers use the word for desperate or hopeless cases.
Sons of the Most High (uoi uyistou). In Luke 1:32 Jesus is called "Son of the Highest" and here all real children or sons of God (Luke 20:36) are so termed. See also Luke 1:35, Luke 1:76 for the use of "the Highest" of God. He means the same thing that we see in Matthew 5:45, Matthew 5:48 by "your Father."
Toward the unthankful and evil (epi touv axaristouv kai ponhrouv). God the Father is kind towards the unkind and wicked. Note the one article with both adjectives.
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Luke 1:32
Luke 8:28
2 Timothy 3:2
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