According to the Holy Bible enmity means hatred or deep ill-will. Many popular dictionaries define enmity as a condition of hostility and animosity; another synonym is antagonism. In simple terms enmity can be described as an expressed feeling of hatred and dislike.

In the Holy Bible, enmity is the translation of the Greek word (used in the New Testament of the Bible) Ek-thraw and of the Hebrew word ay-bah, which is often used in the Old Testament of the Bible.

This word is closely related to word enemy, and it is a strong feeling; it is often difficult to understand the reason behind this feeling. It is often a result of someone’s wrongdoings towards someone else. Blood feuds, vendettas, vindictiveness, etc are outgrowths of enmity. One may even want to avenge themselves by doing harm to the person concerned because of their deep-rooted hatred. An antonym of enmity is amity which means a cordial disposition and a state of good friendship.

Let us look at the entomology of the word: it originates from the French language. Enmity is derived from the old French and Middle English words ‘enemistie or ennemistie’ and ‘enemite’ respectively. There are various Biblical references which have used this word. The Christian perspective about the word is that people with hatred towards someone are murderers in their heart. The word was first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 3:15.

This emotion has lead to many battles and wars, blood feuds and vengeance: a lot of mayhem has followed after it. Bloodshed, animosity, malice are byproducts of enmity, and the bitterness caused because of this emotion destroys a lot of things. One must stay away from this feeling; a little stability and conscience will help one steer away from abhorring and hating other people/things. Despising someone is not a good characteristic, so one must take everything in their stride and learn to forgive: even the Bible says so.