Modified from Irving L. Jensen's excellent work "Jensen's Survey of the NT"

BLESS THOSE WHO (continually) PERSECUTE YOU: eulogeite (2PPAM) tous diokontas (PAPMPA) (humas): (Ro 12:21; Job 31:29,30; Matthew 5:44, 48, Luke 6:28; 23:34; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 4:12,13; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; James 3:10; 1 Peter 2:21, 22, 23; 3:9)

Be constantly blessing those who are constantly persecuting you (Wuest)

Wayne Barber gives us the proper context for how one can even begin to produce the "fruits" in this section of Paul's exhortation...Wayne says...

I love the chorus, "The Family of God."

There is something in me and my relationships to others that is drastically different. It is God in me. It is God in you. God is manifesting a love that human ability could never attain. It is a divine love. It is a sensitive love. It is a caring love. It is a selfless love. It is God in us, living and manifesting His life and love through us. (from sermon Romans 12:14-17 Responsibilities Under Grace 7) (Bolding added)

Now that you are surrendered (if you're not read over Wayne Barber's sermon on Romans 12:1) you are ready to put into practice the following command, remembering that God never asks us to carry out any task that He does not first equip us to complete...

Bless (2127) (eulogeo from eu = good + lógos = word) (see related word eulogetos) when used by men toward men it means to speak well of with praise and thanksgiving (English "eulogize") means literally a good word and so to speak well of those who chase after you! It means to invoke God’s blessing upon them.

The present imperative calls for (commands) us to make it a habit to bless them. Try to fulfill this command in your own strength beloved!

Here are the 41 NT uses of eulogeo -- Matt. 14:19; 21:9; 23:39; 25:34; 26:26; Mk. 6:41; 8:7; 11:9f; 14:22; Lk. 1:42, 64; 2:28, 34; 6:28; 9:16; 13:35; 19:38; 24:30, 50f, 53; Jn. 12:13; Acts 3:26; Rom. 12:14; 1 Co. 4:12; 10:16; 14:16; Gal. 3:9; Eph. 1:3; Heb. 6:14; 7:1, 6f; 11:20f; Jas. 3:9; 1 Pet. 3:9 (There are over 250 uses of eulogeo in the Septuagint).

Wayne Barber explains that eulogeo...

"means to speak good things about this person. Now careful, don’t jump ahead with surface interpretation. You may be thinking, "Now wait a minute! Do you mean when somebody, even in the body of Christ, treats me like dirt, I am supposed to say something good about them? That is a lie." Yeah, it sure is. And God is not telling you to lie about them. What does it mean to bless somebody, to speak well of somebody?

You have to read the whole verse. He says, "bless and curse not." The word "curse" means to wish evil upon someone. That is what it means to curse them. It means to say, "Oh, I hope he gets his. I hope this happens in his life," wishing evil upon them. Instead, wish that good things could come upon them. Speak that which is good. Don’t lie about them because they are mean people, but speak good. Wish that which is good to come upon them. Now that is the way you treat those in the body of Christ who bring great grief and pain in your Christian walk. You are seeking to walk surrendered to Christ and they treat you as if you are dirt. You don’t wish evil upon them.

Now you know, if you didn’t understand Romans 1-11, you can’t understand this. In Romans 8 we know why we can do this. ...Because God is causing all things, even those people who bring us grief, to work together for good to those that love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. You see, you have got to have the first 11 chapters of Romans to even begin to understand chapters 12 through 16. Everything in chapters 12 through 16 hinges on what we have already studied in Romans. God is in charge. He even uses the persecution. To do what? To drive us to the end of ourselves. Why? Because Romans 8:29 says that we might be conformed into the image of Christ Jesus. So the pain and all the things that we go through in this quarry, in this school, in this workshop down here on this earth are all tools that God is using to chip off and to hone and to make us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. It drives us to the end of ourselves where we learn to decrease and then He is able to increase in our life. That is what life is all about.

So as a believer, when it comes, back off and say,

You don’t wish evil upon them. As a matter of fact, it is by the grace of God that you are not like they are. So speak well of them. Speak good of them. That is the response of a person whose love is without hypocrisy. Because you have got the bigger picture, you can see far beyond the pain and what the individual is doing to you in your life.

It is the saddest thing in the world when people live with bitterness inside them. Hebrews says,

Do you know where it comes from? It comes from not being surrendered. It comes from not understanding that only when you are surrendered, this is your logical, reasonable spiritual service of worship. When you make this offering of yourself to God, God can transform you, renew your mind and you are going to think differently from that point on. But a person not willing to live that way is a person who has put himself, his sinful body, right back up under bondage, the same bondage that God has freed him from. He lives in misery, bound to something that he should never be bound to. So, the response.  (from sermon Romans 12:14-17 Responsibilities Under Grace 7)

Persecute (1377) (dioko from dio = pursue, prosecute) means to follow or press hard after, pursue with earnestness and diligence. In the presence context dioko means to pursue with repeated acts of enmity. The present tense indicates this is the saint's continual lot in this life, for as Paul writes to the saints at Philippi

"to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (see notes on Philippians 1:29)

Obedience to Paul's command (present imperative) runs counter to the tendency of every believer's old flesh nature, (cf notes on Galatians 5:17) and clearly is impossible in our own strength. To act (like Christ) rather than to react is only possible as we allow the Spirit to control us ("Him-possible"), walking in the Spirit. Flesh cannot sincerely (emphasize "sincerely"!) speak well of those who continually persecute us. Paul is not calling for "lip service" but an attitude that flows forth from our regenerated new covenant heart.

Here are the 44 uses of dioko in the NT -- Mt 5:10, 11, 12,, 44; 10:23; 23:34; Lk. 17:23; 21:12; Jn. 5:16; 15:20; Acts 7:52; 9:4, 5; 22:4, 7, 8; 26:11, 14, 15; Ro 9:30, 31; 12:13, 14; 14:19; 1Co 4:12; 14:1; 15:9; 2Co 4:9; Ga 1:13, 23; 4:29; 5:11; 6:12; Php 3:6, 12, 14; 1Th 5:15; 1Ti 6:11; 2Ti 2:22; 3:12; Heb 12:14; 1Pe 3:11; Re 12:13

Wayne Barber gives a "Southern" illustration of "persecution"...

The word "persecution," dioko, is something that you need to realize. It is the word that means to follow after, to pursue after. Many times over the years that I have been here, I have talked about a coon hunt. The raccoon, you know, just doesn’t bother anybody. He sleeps all day long. He gets up in the evening when everybody else goes home and goes about his business. Then one night, he hears the sound of dogs baying out there in the dark. He says to himself, "Oh, no. I haven’t bothered anybody and here we go again." Then that sound gets on his trail! You know what they are like when they are treed. They get that high-pitched sound. That poor little raccoon wasn’t bothering anybody.

That is the word for persecuted...Do you mean they follow you everywhere you go? Yes, and especially when you seek to live a godly life. Number one, they don’t understand this kind of love and they don’t understand the God we serve. It is going to follow you and it is going to be within the church walls as much as it is going to be without it. I wish it were not that way. Flesh is inside the church and outside the church. (from sermon Romans 12:14-17 Responsibilities Under Grace 7)

Torrey's Topic "Persecution" emphasizes that our Lord was persecuted and so we as His disciples should expect persecution because all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, but as implied in Paul's exhortation in the present verse, we should bear up under the persecution remembering that the persecution of a saint is ultimately persecution of Jesus (see study on The Exchange of Armor emphasizing the impact a proper understanding of every saint's present protection as a result of our new position in the New Covenant).

By the way, don't think that this persecution only comes from outside the church. Jesus warned His disciples that a time would come in which whoever would kills them would be so deceived that he would truly think that he was offering service to God! (Jn 16:2).

Treat enemies as if they were your friends (Lk 6:27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 cf. Lk 23:34 Acts 7:60 1Pe 2:21-note, 22-note, 23-note).

For those who are bought with a price and are no longer there own but are left here as ambassadors of reconciliation (2Cor 5:18, 19, 20), it is not sufficient to simply abstain from retaliation against those who do us injury. Irregardless of continual persecutions, believers are to go to great lengths, making every effort to seek their persecutors welfare! Try to obey this command in your own strength!

The principle of non-retaliation for personal injury permeates the NT and provides practical guidance when life brings us up against those who care nothing for us and are even opposed to all that we stand for. The practice? Ask that they might enjoy the blessings of God! Love inevitably desires the best for other people regardless of who they may be. So while the old nature says “Curse them” God through Paul says, “Ask Me to bless them.”
 

BLESS AND CURSE NOT: eulogeite (2PPAM) kai me katarasthe (2PPMM): (1Co 4:12, 13 1Th 5:15 James 3:10 1Pe 3:9)

Notice this is the second command to bless (present imperative) in one verse. Does Paul have your attention?

The surpassing greatness of the love of Jesus Christ in us is that it can be extended to our enemies even as He Himself did from the Cross (Lu23:34), especially if we have presented ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. His will is to be our desire & if His will is that we are to be persecuted, then that is good & acceptable & perfect (see notes on Romans 12:2).

Paul's exhortation is very practical for it provides guidance when life brings us up against those who care nothing for us and are in fact opposed to all that we stand for. His advice? Ask that they might enjoy the blessings of God! Love inevitably desires the best for other people regardless of who they may be. The old nature says, “Curse them”; God says, “Ask me to bless them.” This is a mind no longer being conformed to the world but transformed by the Spirit & the Word.

Note that Paul's exhortation is not simply a passive acceptance. We are not just to endure persecution, not just to refrain from striking back at our persecutors, and not even just to refrain from wishing them harm. Rather, Paul boldly commands us (present tense = the habit of our life!) to pray a prayer of blessing for our persecutors. To “bless” in this sense is to ask God to bestow his favor upon someone. To “curse” would be the opposite, i.e., to call upon God to bring harm upon someone.

To reiterate, obedience to this command is not humanly possible but is supernaturally possible as we present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices, dead to self but alive to God's desires.

Curse (2672) (kataraomai) is to imprecate evil on someone saying that a supernatural power will cause harm to someone or something. To call down curses upon someone. To utter a prayer or invocation for harm or injury to come upon one. To utter a wish of evil against one; to imprecate evil upon; to call for mischief or injury to fall upon; to execrate. A solemn appeal to a supernatural power to inflict harm on someone or something.

Louw-Nida state that the idea is

to cause injury or harm by means of a statement regarded as having some supernatural power, often because a deity or supernatural force has been evoked. (Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. United Bible societies)

Vine writes kataraomai

primarily signifies to pray against, to wish evil against a person or thing; hence to curse (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)

Kataraomai is in the present imperative  with a negative which is a command to the saints in Rome to stop cursing, implying they were in fact already responding in this manner. Don't miss the order in this verse - first, bless, then, curse not. It's difficult to curse someone you just blessed beloved! And remember it's all founded on a surrender of your will in Romans 12:1, which in turn is founded on the liberating truth in Romans 1-11. You cannot just begin to read Paul's commands in Romans 12-16 and expect that you will be able to obey them unless you understand why it is even now possible for you in Christ to be able to do so (that's Romans 1-11!)

Here are the 6 uses of kataraomai in the NT - Mt 5:44; 25:41; Mk. 11:21; Lk. 6:28; Ro 12:14; James. 3:9

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary writes that a curse is

a prayer for injury, harm, or misfortune to befall someone. Noah, for instance, pronounced a curse on Canaan (Ge 9:25). Isaac pronounced a curse on anyone who cursed Jacob (Ge 27:29). The soothsayer Balaam was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to pronounce a curse on the Israelites (Numbers 22–24). Goliath, the Philistine giant of Gath, “cursed David by his gods” (1 Sa 17:43). In Bible times, a curse was considered to be more than a mere wish that evil would befall one’s enemies; it was believed to possess the power to bring about the evil the curser spoke.

The Romans saints were calling down curses on those who persecuted them for the sake of Christ. But Paul says "Stop cursing them!”

Note that the Greek idea of "curse" does not have the usual present day meaning of speaking profanity, but of calling down divine curses upon another person.

Kent Hughes comments that...

This is the radical way of Jesus as given in his Sermon on the Mount. More than speaking well of one’s enemies, it includes praying for their forgiveness and blessing. This is supremely radical. It is one thing not to curse your enemies, but entirely another to pray for their blessing. This is a life-changing call. The Arabs have a custom which (though practiced with differing levels of sincerity) symbolizes what is called for here. They touch the head, lips, and heart indicating, “I think highly of you, I speak well of you, my heart beats for you.” What a way to love the world! “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (Hughes, R. K. Romans: Righteousness from heaven. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books)

Vincent gives an illustration of this word "curse" (kataraomai) in classical Greek

“Plutarch relates that when a decree was issued that Alcibiades should be solemnly cursed by all the priests and priestesses, one of the latter declared that her holy office obliged her to make prayers, but not execrations.” 

REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE: chairein (PAN) meta chaironton (PAPMPG)  (Isaiah 66:10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Luke 1:58; 15:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; Acts 11:23; 1 Corinthians 12:26; 2 Corinthians 2:3; Philippians 2:17,18,28 )

Rejoice (5463) (chairo - click Vines discussion of chairo) means to be "cheer" full, calmly happy or well-off. To be glad or be delighted, expressing either a state of well-being or of happiness. Chairo is used in a whole range of situations in which the emotion of joy is evoked. Chairo was occasionally used as a greeting to wish another well (Mt 26:49, 27:29, 28:9, Mk 15:18, Lk 1:28)

Chairo is a common verb in the NT occurring some 74 times --- Mt. 2:10; 5:12; 18:13; 26:49; 27:29; 28:9; Mk. 14:11; 15:18; Lk. 1:14, 28; 6:23; 10:20; 13:17; 15:5, 32; 19:6, 37; 22:5; 23:8; Jn. 3:29; 4:36; 8:56; 11:15; 14:28; 16:20, 22; 19:3; 20:20; Acts 5:41; 8:39; 11:23; 13:48; 15:23, 31; 23:26; Ro 12:12, 15; 16:19; 1Co. 7:30; 13:6; 16:17; 2Co 2:3; 6:10; 7:7, 9, 13, 16; 13:9, 11; Php 1:18; 2:17, 18, 28; 3:1; 4:4, 10; Col. 1:24; 2:5; 1Th 3:9; 5:16; James. 1:1; 1Pe 4:13; 2Jn 1:4, 10, 11; 3 Jn. 1:3; Rev. 11:10; 19:7
 

I like Webster's definition of "to give joy to"! Does your presence in the room bring joy to others? I hope you are convicted because I am! Rejoice continually (present tense).

George Fox, the great Quaker, recorded this prayer in his diary:

I prayed to God that He would baptize my heart into all conditions so I might be able to enter the needs and conditions of all.

At first thought, that principle would seem easy to follow. But when another person’s blessing and happiness is at our expense, or when their favored circumstances or notable accomplishments make ours seem barren and dull, the flesh does not lead us to rejoice but tempts us to resent.

A sorrow shared is
But half a trouble.
A joy that’s shared is
A joy made double.

Paul exhorts us to be considerate of the feelings of others instead of waiting for them to be considerate of our feelings. Because believers are a body, when one part hurts, everyone feels the pain & conversely when one is joyful, should rejoice. (1Co12:25, 26). Empathy is the capacity for sharing vicariously the feelings and emotions of others. Our tendency even as believers is to be jealous when others rejoice, and to pass them by when they mourn. God’s will is that His children become a family where the joys of one become the joys of all and the pain of one is gladly shared by all the others. The elder brother in the account of the prodigal son provides a clear example of the failure to join in rejoicing (Lu15:25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32). On the other hand, the Gospels record that upon meeting Mary following the death of her brother, “Jesus wept” (Jn 11:35).

Wayne Barber comments on this section...

Could we all be honest? If you would just get flat out honest, that is the way it is. Flesh (Ed note: our old self  or old man, our nature inherited from Adam)  doesn’t rejoice. If somebody in your church whom you know real well inherited a million dollars, could you say, "I am so happy for you"? No, you walk away saying, "God, how come it is him? How come it couldn’t be me?" You see, we can’t rejoice. Only when God the Holy Spirit is in charge of us can we rejoice when they rejoice. That is the key, not the weeping, but the rejoicing.

But that is not what he is talking about here. I don’t believe that has a thing to do with it. I think it is certainly involved in the truth, but he has not left the theme of persecution. He says, "Weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice." Now there is a rejoicing and there is a weeping when people go through persecution. We have to understand that.

Look in Acts 5:41 at people together rejoicing because of persecution. You begin to understand the honor of being persecuted. We dread it. Oh, no. We need to look forward to the fact that God exalts us in persecution. He is exalted in persecution, but He is honoring us because He is trusting us by our walk.

"So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name."

Now look at Romans 5:3 (see notes on Romans 5:3). We have looked at this before, but I want you to see it now. Romans 5:3 says the same thing. There is a rejoicing in this. Yes, there is a weeping. It is a two-sided coin. On one side we are weeping because it is painful and it is difficult. On the other side there is a reason that we can rejoice with one another.

"And not only this," it says, "but we also exult in our tribulations," we rejoice in our tribulations, "knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance.... hope does not disappoint."

We know those verses. Paul is saying when you go through a trial, God the Holy Spirit begins to show you the honor of going through it. But you also begin to experience and feel the pain of having to go through it. Do you realize when somebody persecutes you, they have honored you and deemed you worthy to be dishonored and shamed for the cause of Christ? We look at it exactly the opposite, but God looks at it this way. Whenever I am being persecuted, I ought to back off and say, "Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Something is going right in my life. And the Christ in me, being manifested in His love through me, is drawing persecution from the world. They can’t stand it. They fight against it. Somehow our walk has been deemed worthy so that we might be disapproved and put to shame for the cause of Christ."

But there is also that weeping with others as they weep. There is a weeping and there is a rejoicing that the family of God shares together as they live godly lives, surrendered to the Holy Spirit of God, letting God be who He is in their life.

It is a beautiful picture here, an attitude of understanding each other, an attitude of joining hands and saying, "Okay, man, I am praying for you. You pray for me. I weep with you and you weep with me." But we will all rejoice together when our walk is such that persecution is what is effected and caused because of it. That is the key.

Now, in order for that to happen there is something that God the Holy Spirit does in me and in you. It takes me off the pedestal and puts me down where I belong. All of a sudden down here, I begin to see people who are hurting everywhere. Remember this, I am not always being persecuted, but somebody is. It makes me aware of it because I may be next. There is no time out when I can start thinking about Wayne. We are always considering those who are going through it because, as I said, we may be next.  (from sermon Romans 12:14-17 Responsibilities Under Grace 7)

In an illustration from the sports world we read about Rickey Henderson breaking Lou Brock's stolen base record...

New Record - Forty thousand fans were on hand in the Oakland stadium when Rickey Henderson tied Lou Brock’s career stolen base record. According to USA Today Lou, who had left baseball in 1979, had followed Henderson’s career and was excited about his success. Realizing that Rickey would set a new record, Brock said, “I’ll be there. Do you think I’m going to miss it now? Rickey did in 12 years what took me 19. He’s amazing.”

Th