Proverbs 24:29
27 Establish your work outside and get your fields ready; afterward build your house. 28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your words. 29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will pay him back according to what he has done.” 30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one who lacks sense. 31 I saw that thorns had grown up all over it; the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down.
Romans 12:17
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Notes and References
"... Mercy is the best revenge. If you treat your enemy humanely, you will put him to shame, either pricking his conscience or scorching his pride, and God will reward you. The issue of revenge is discussed in the Comment on 20:22 The importance of requiting good for evil is a Wisdom topos. Schadenfreude angers God (Proverbs 24:17–18). Other texts counseling decent treatment of one’s adversaries are Leviticus 19:18; Exodus 23:4; Phibis (“It is better to bless someone than to do harm to one who has insulted you” [Papyrus Insinger 23.6; translation from AEL 3.203]); Romans 12:17–21; and the two quoted below. The sentiment in 25:21–22, however, is not devoid of vindictiveness, for it motivates the humane treatment by promising shame to one’s opponent and a reward to oneself. heap coals on his head: This is a metaphor for causing pain (compare Proverbs 6:27–28), in this case, the pain of humiliation. That it also symbolizes contrition or “self-accusing repentance” is doubtful. The figurative coals do not effect moral change ..."
Fox, Michael V. Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (p. 787) Yale University Press, 2009