Matthew 5:42
Strong	Used	Unique	Word	Part of speech
G3588	19706	1236	τω	[77] T-DSM: article dative singular masculine [23] T-DSN: article dative singular neuter
G154	70	3	αιτουντι	V-PAP-DSM: verb present active participle dative singular masculine
G4771	1069	197	σε	[5] P-2AS: personal pronoun 2nd person accusative singular
G1325	414	16	δος	V-2AAM-2S: verb 2nd person aorist active imperative 2nd person singular
G2532	8954	8954	και	[1119] CONJ: conjunction
G3588	19706	1561	τον	[70] T-ASM: article accusative singular masculine
G2309	207	1	θελοντα	V-PAP-ASM: verb present active participle accusative singular masculine
G575	637	477	απο	[31] PREP: preposition
G4771	1069	482	σου	[45] P-2GS: personal pronoun 2nd person genitive singular
G1155	4	1	δανισασθαι	V-AMN: verb aorist middle infinitive
G3361	1029	1021	μη	[50] PRT-N: participle negative
G654	9	1	αποστραφης	V-2APS-2S: verb 2nd aorist passive subjunctive 2nd person singular

A loan shark is someone who lends money at an exorbitant interest rate somewhat higher than, say, credit card companies.
This is in contrast to a lone shark which is a single shark. To shirk is to avoid. Someone who does not loan shirk is someone who does not avoid loaning something.

• There is not a lot of interest in this loanly joke with no friends. Actually, it's not my joke. It's just a loaner joke.
• If you take out a loan for a personal exorcism, and do not pay it back, you will get repossessed - or, at the least, lose your tail. The devil is in the de-tails.

What exactly does the verse refer to in terms of a "loan"?

Many translations of this verse make assumptions that can not be supported from the Greek. Many are tradition.

• NLT (New Living Translation): Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
• NIV (New International Version): Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
• Good News Translation: When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him.

Should we really give anyone anything they want without restriction? Did Jesus do this?

What do we do if someone asks for something that is dangerous or toxic to them? Who would give bad gifts to their children (believers)?

[John 6 and fish and chips crowd, Peter and foot washing, love neighbor as yourself]

In MLB (Major League Baseball), the following sometimes happens when it is beneficial to both teams, usually teams that are not in direct competition.

• Team A, such as the Angels, need a shortstop (or some other position player) and are "asking" for a shortstop (to make a short stop with their team).
• Team B, such as the Padres have a shortstop that they are not using. They do not want to send him to the minors but want to, for some reason, have him play in the majors, but do not need him at the present time.
• The shortstop "desires" to play for the Angels.
• The Padres may "loan" the shortstop and, to some extent, subsidize the cost.
• Once the decision is made, neither team "looks back" or "regrets" the decision.

The following connections are made in the analogy.

• The Angels represent the message of the Holy Spirit with a purpose of a more complete, fulfilled, perfect team from the player pool of those desiring to work the harvest. The Holy Spirit asks or requests who it chooses.
• The shortstop represents a worker (e.g., disciple) for the harvest who has heard and understood the message and desires to help that team.
• The Padres represent the disciples and believers wanting to help the Angels as part of their own working of the harvest. It is a win-win situation.

• The Angels are asking for (requesting) a shortstop. The shortstop desires (support) from the Padres to play for the Angels. The Padres (should) give the shortstop as an (indefinite) loan to the Angels (until the end of the season). Do not turn back (have regrets).
• Give him (to) them (who are) asking. And, him (who is) desiring from you, loan (him) (to them). No turning back.
• Give him them asking. And, him desiring from you loan. No turning back.
• Give you it asking. And, him desiring from you loan. No turning back.
• It asking you give. And, him desiring from you loan. No turning back.

Note: To go from verbal (less ambiguous pronouns, missing words) to written form (less clear), the first "you" or "thee" is changed to "him". (explained below)

Verse 40 is a continuation of verse 39, though most translations do not indicate this. Thus, the previous two verses used "whoever" in a negative sense. That is, as a play on words with Greek "bones" and Latin "enemy".

This verse does start using that negative "whoever" reference. Rather, the neutral "him" or "it" (dative case). Who is "him" or "it"?

It could be the implied "message" or "mission" from the previous verse. That is, the "messagize" translated as "compel".

Matthew (or whoever wrote Matthew) is very detailed, with many play on words, double meanings, code words, etc., as spoken by Jesus and recorded by Matthew.

• Authentication codes
• Continuity codes

Writing style	Jesus speaks	Matthew connects	Matthew translates
Play on words	Yes	No	Sometimes
Top‑down reasoning	Yes	No	Sometimes
Consistent code word usage	Yes	No	Sometimes

Luke reports what people remembered some 20 years later.

• Changes in Luke to a more literal meaning help identify places in Matthew where Jesus words what he says very carefully.
• Changes in the TR (Textus Receptus) help identify where the wording spoken by Jesus was changed to fit a specific understanding of what Jesus said.

Example:

• ... slap ... into the jawbone ... (includes moving or being thrust into the fray or competition)
• ... strike ... on the jawbone ... (excludes the thrust, the into and the fray or competition)

Luke uses a more appropriate word for "strike" while, in Matthew, Jesus uses a word that means more of a "slap" or, in weather terms, one type of air moving into another type of air with resulting weather phenomena or disturbances.

Jesus appears to have spoken mostly in Greek, as did almost everyone in the area (except the religious elite) for over 300 years. Some interesting parts are where Jesus appears to have spoken Aramaic when addressed directly by the religious elite, and what Jesus says was then translated by Matthew and is assumed to be what Jesus spoke. The filter of language translation provides some interesting aspects of the book of Matthew.

Some of the play on words used by Jesus (in Greek) appear to be as distractors for any spies sent by the religious establishment to report back on what Jesus was saying.

• Jesus uses Greek words with Semitic origins as distractors. Some of these hide play on words in Greek.
• Jesus uses some Latin words as play on words.

Some if this is similar, on a small scale, to what linguists call code switching where children having grown up exposed to multiple languages will sometimes talk to others in code where they switch between the languages. One example would be using nouns from one language but verbs from the other language.

As usual, based on what people remember some 20 years later, Luke reports a more literal and expanded literal version of what is carefully worded in Matthew.

• The specific "it" or "he" is generalized to "any" or "every". In Greek, this is singular (complete) and not the English all or every to which it is often translated.
• The second "ask" in Luke is a different word.
• Luke changes the "borrow" to "take away". The word "goods" is added in the KJV (King James Version).
• Luke changes the "not" "turn back" as in "no regrets" to "not" "demand back".

The Greek for "give" is the source of the English word "dose" as something that is "given". This Greek word is in the verse before the "ask" verse later in the Sermon on the Mount.

Paraphrase: You give (subject) you (direct object) (to) it ...

The "ask" is a participle in the dative case (some other include nominative, accusative, genitive, vocative, etc.) and serves as the direct object of the sentence. The (first) "you" is in the accusative case.

The English word "accusative" comes, through French, from the Latin word "accusativus" ≈ "having been blamed" from "accuso" ≈ "to blame". This is a mistranslation of the ancient Greek grammatical word "αἰτιᾱτική" ≈ "expressing an effect" and comes from "αἰτιατικός" ≈ "cause". This word comes from "αἰτία" ≈ "accusation, cause, occasion" and comes from "αἰτέω" ≈ "ask, request" which is the word for "ask" (as a dative participle) in this verse and so goes with the "him" or "it"

The verse in Luke says much the same as the verse in Matthew with some double-meaning words changed to one literal meaning.

The verse in Peter appears to summarize the verse in Matthew. (see below near the end).

The ancient Greek word "αἰτέω" ≈ "ask, request" is used by Aristotle as a "reason" or "cause" in his four causes or reasons why things happen.