❤️ Leviticus 19:18 | Original Hebrew and Biblical Love

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Let’s peel back the curtain and look at the original Hebrew in our memory verse!

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___ _____ not ____ _________ __ ____ _ ______ against the ____ __ your ___ ______, ___ you _____ ____ your ________ __ ________: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:18

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Leviticus 19:18 is one of the most important ethical commands in the entire Old Testament. We’d miss out if we didn’t dig any deeper.

There are a few key words in this verse that highlight some truths we might miss.

1. nāqam (pronounced nah-KAHM) — “vengeance”

This word refers to personal retaliation or revenge. It is the act of taking justice into your own hands to settle a personal wrong.

In the Bible, vengeance is said to ultimately belong to God, not individuals (Deuteronomy 32:35). When people pursue revenge, they step outside the boundaries God set for justice.

Paul later echoes this principle when he writes:

As much as we may want it to be, retaliation isn’t our job. It’s God’s.

2. nāṭar (pronounced nah-TAHR) — “grudge”

This word literally carries the idea of guarding or keeping something stored away. In this context, it refers to storing up resentment.

To bear a grudge is to hold onto anger and keep replaying a wrong in your mind.

Here, we are reminded that God is concerned not only with outward behavior, but also with the inner posture of our heart.

Leviticus warns against this kind of hidden bitterness because it destroys relationships within the community. Instead of letting resentment fester, God calls His people toward reconciliation.

3. ’ahav (pronounced ah-HAHV) — “love”

This word is one of the most important relational terms in the Old Testament. It describes active commitment, loyalty, and care for another person.

Contrary to modern use of the word, “love” is not primarily a feeling. It’s an action. In other words, it’s something you do (not something you just feel).

As we talked about earlier this week, love is more practical than sentimental: leaving food for the poor (19:9–10), dealing honestly in business (19:11), paying workers fairly (19:13), and judging people justly (19:15).

Love, in this biblical sense, means taking action to seek the good of another person.

4. rēa‘ (pronounced RAY-ah) — “neighbor”

The word translated “neighbor” can refer broadly to another member of the community.

In the immediate context of Leviticus, it refers to fellow Israelites. But the chapter expands the principle only a few verses later:

By the time we reach the New Testament, Jesus stretches this principle further in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37) and even further in the Sermon on the Mount:

Love your neighbor → Love strangers → Love your enemies

Leviticus 19:18 moves us from what we must not do to what we must do.

Do not seek revenge.
Do not store up resentment.

Instead, love your neighbor as yourself.

And the verse closes with the grounding for the entire command, for all of our ethics: “I am the LORD.”

Once again, God’s authority is the foundation.

There’s a person in my life who wronged me greatly. They refused reconciliation, and I haven’t spoken to them in years. But over time, I’ve forgiven them, and have a much clearer head about that situation.

But in the moment when the hurt was active, I desperately wanted vengeance! And I could have taken it.

I actually had a piece of information that could have ruined this person’s career. I knew of a violation that wasn’t exactly illegal but would be frowned upon by employers and could cost them a credential in their field.

I often considered using this information. A couple of emails sent to the right people…I could have destroyed them.

But thank the Lord, I never did.

Vengeance isn’t my job. My job is to love my neighbor as myself. And you know what I would want? Someone to not ruin all my career prospects!

I want to be treated with compassion, fairness, forgiveness, and love. And God calls me to extend that to others.

Reflect: Think of a situation where you've been genuinely wronged. In this moment, which are you more tempted by: acting on revenge, or quietly storing resentment?

What would it look like to take one step toward active love instead?

🙏 Pray

Father, show me where I am desiring revenge or storing resentment. I don’t want to hold on to the hurt. I want to leave it at your feet and trust you with ultimate judgment. Free me of my need for vengeance and the hatred I hold in my heart. Give me the power, through your Spirit to love my neighbor and my enemy this week. Amen.

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into our memory verse and its themes:

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:18