Heidelberg Catechism (1563), Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus

Question 107

Section 40: Lord’s Day 40

But is it enough that we don’t kill any man in the manner mentioned above?

No: for when God forbids envy, hatred, and anger, he commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves;a to show patience,b peace, meekness,c mercy, and all kindness, towards him;d and prevent his hurt as much as in us lies:e and that we do good, even to our enemies.f

  1. a. Matthew 22:39; 7:12

    Matthew 22:39

    22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

    22:39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

    Matthew 7:12

    7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

    7:12 In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

    King James VersionBerean Standard Bible

  2. b. Romans 12:10

    Romans 12:10

    12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

    12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

    King James VersionBerean Standard Bible

  3. c. Ephesians 4:2; Galatians 6:1–2; Matthew 5:5; Romans 12:18

    Ephesians 4:2

    4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

    4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

    Galatians 6:1–2

    6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

    6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 6:2 Carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

    Matthew 5:5

    5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

    5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

    Romans 12:18

    12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

    12:18 If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

    King James VersionBerean Standard Bible

  4. d. Exodus 23

    Exodus 23

    23:1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 23:2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: 23:3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. 23:4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. 23:6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 23:8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 23:10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 23:11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. 23:18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 23:21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. 23:22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23:23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. 23:24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. 23:25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 23:26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. 23:27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. 23:28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. 23:29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 23:31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. 23:32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 23:33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

    23:1 "You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness. 23:2 You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd. 23:3 And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. 23:4 If you encounter your enemy's stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it. 23:6 You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits. 23:7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty. 23:8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. 23:9 Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 23:10 For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce, 23:11 but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove. 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident. 23:13 Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips. 23:14 Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me. 23:15 You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed. 23:16 You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. 23:17 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD. 23:18 You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning. 23:19 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother's milk. 23:20 Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 23:21 Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. 23:22 But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23:23 For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them. 23:24 You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces. 23:25 So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you. 23:26 No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days. 23:27 I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run. 23:28 I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 23:29 I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. 23:30 Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land. 23:31 And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. 23:32 You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. 23:33 They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."

    King James VersionBerean Standard Bible

  5. e. Matthew 5:45

    Matthew 5:45

    5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

    5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

    King James VersionBerean Standard Bible

  6. f. Romans 12:20

    Romans 12:20

    12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

    12:20 On the contrary, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head."

    King James VersionBerean Standard Bible

Diff style

Changes in An Orthodox Catechism (1680), Question 125

An Orthodox Catechism (1680), Question 125

But Is it enough then that we don’t kill any no Man, in the manner mentioned above?such sort as hath been said?

No: It is not enough; for when God forbids condemneth Anger, Envy, Hatred, and anger, he commands us to requireth that we love our Neighbour as ourselves; to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness, towards him; and prevent his hurt as much as in us lies: our selves and that we use Humanity, Lenity, Courtesie, Patience, and Mercy towards him, and turn away from him as much as we may whatsoever may be hurtful unto him; in a word, that we be so affected in Mind as that we stick not to do good even to also unto our Enemies.

Heidelberg Catechism (1563), Question 107

But is it enough that we don’t kill any man in the manner mentioned above?

No: for when God forbids envy, hatred, and anger, he commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves; to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness, towards him; and prevent his hurt as much as in us lies: and that we do good, even to our enemies.

An Orthodox Catechism (1680), Question 125

Is it enough then that we kill no Man, in such sort as hath been said?

It is not enough; for when God condemneth Anger, Envy, Hatred, he requireth that we love our Neighbour as our selves and that we use Humanity, Lenity, Courtesie, Patience, and Mercy towards him, and turn away from him as much as we may whatsoever may be hurtful unto him; in a word, that we be so affected in Mind as that we stick not to do good also unto our Enemies.

Commentaries (2)

  • Zacharias Ursinus, 1587, The Summe of Christian Religion (2 parts)

    Is it enough then, that we kil no man in such sort, as hath beene said? It is not enough: For when god condemneth anger, enuy, hatred, he requireth that wee loue our neighbour as…

    Zacharias Ursinus’s text
  • Jeremias Bastingius, 1591, A Catechisme of Christian Religion, with the Arguments and Use

    And is it sufficient to kill noe man in such sorte as hath bin spoken? It is not sufficient: for when God condemneth wrath, enuie, hatred; hee requireth, that wee loue our…

    Jeremias Bastingius’s text