Exegesis:
Vv. 27 and 28 consist of four asyndetic co-ordinate clauses which belong closely together in terms of subject matter. This is brought out by the punctuation in the Greek text and in modern versions.
alla humin legō tois akouousin ‘but to you who are listening I say.’ This introductory clause shows that what follows is meant for a different group from those addressed in vv. 24-26. For humin legō cf. on 3.8. Here the usual word order is inverted for reasons of emphasis. tois akouousin is best interpreted as ‘you to whom I am talking,’ i.e. the disciples (cf. Creed).
agapate tous echthrous humōn, kalōs poieite tois misousin humas ‘love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.’ ‘Enemies’ and ‘those who hate’ are to be understood in the light of v. 22 where reference is made to people who hate the disciples because of the Son of man. The aspect of the verbal forms in these verses is habitual.
(V. 28) eulogeite tous katarōmenous humas ‘bless those who curse you.’ For eulogeō cf. on 1.42; its meaning is well brought out by The Four Gospels – a New Translation, “call blessings down on…”.
kataraomai ‘to curse,’ i.e. to call evil powers against somebody in order to consign him to destruction. As compared with enmity and hate cursing and, for that matter, abusing (see next note) are more specific acts in which enmity expresses itself.
proseuchesthe peri tōn epēreazontēn humas ‘pray for those who abuse you.’
epēreazō (only here and 1 Pet. 3.16 in the N.T.) ‘to abuse,’ either in deeds, i.e. ‘to mistreat,’ or in words, i.e. ‘to insult,’ probably the latter.
Translation:
You that hear, or, ‘you that hear me/my words,’ ‘you, my hearers.’
Love, see two Tboli idioms used for “love” in some cases, ‘use up one’s breath for’ (7.47), ‘big one’s breath toward’ (10.27).
Enemies and those who hate you, see on 1.71.
Do good to, or, ‘behave kindly towards,’ ‘treat kindly’ (Tae’).
(V. 28) Bless, see on 1.42 sub (3).
Curse is the direct opposite of ‘to bless.’ In Tzeltal the term has been described, ‘to ask God to harm somebody.’ The receptor language may possess and technical term that is associated with magical practices; in this context there is no objection against the use of such a term.
Pray for says by implication what the more specific ‘to bless’ indicates explicitly. For “to pray” see references in 1.10.
Abuse, in the meaning preferred in Exegesis synonymous with “revile” in v. 22.
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.