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A familiar Bible saying, checked in context

Hate the sin, love the sinner

No exact KJV match

The slogan does not appear word for word in the site's KJV index.

By @The..Mustard..Seed · Updated

Read the relevant KJV passage

Jude 1:22

And of some have compassion, making a difference:

Jude 1:23

And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Compare the evidence

Paul tells readers to abhor evil and cleave to good. It supplies related ethical language without repeating the popular formula.

Romans 12:9

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

John’s account of Jesus and the woman includes an instruction to go and sin no more, but its scene and textual questions should not be compressed into a slogan.

John 8:11

She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

What the context adds

Jude 22–23 combines compassion toward some people with a sharp image of what should be hated. Romans 12:9 also pairs rejection of evil with attachment to good. Neither text says the slogan exactly or specifies every difficult case in which people use it. John 8:1–11 is often invoked too, but its narrative deserves to be read on its own terms. None of these passages makes attention to a particular person unnecessary.

A question to carry forward

How do Jude’s different instructions toward different people change the way you hear a single slogan?

Keep reading

Read Jude 17–23 and Romans 12:9; ask how their wording differs from the familiar slogan.

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