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Romans

About this book
Chapter 12

1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service.⁠ 2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. 4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 6 And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness. 9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.⁠ 10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.⁠ 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 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.⁠ 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.⁠ 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Romans 12:17 and 1 Peter 3:9

New Testament

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Summary

Romans and 1 Peter use similar language to teach that people should not repay evil with evil but try to live peacefully with everyone. The similarity suggests both were drawing from a common source of ethical teaching based on Jewish tradition.

Passages

Romans 12:17

New Testament
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.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

1 Peter 3:9

New Testament
8 Finally, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble. 9 Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing. 10 For the one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from uttering deceit.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Peter

References

"... If we have become skeptical about the existence of such a fixed ethical code behind Romans 9:14-21 as Talbert suggests, we must now press on either to confirm or to contradict this skepticism by our own limited cross-sectional method of investigation. We will do this indirectly by continuing our quest for the traditional form of the command behind 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Romans 12:17; and 1 Peter 3:9. We observed earlier that the similarities between Romans 12:17 and 1 Peter 3:9 point not to literary dependence but to a common tradition behind both verses. In treating 1 Thessalonians 5:15 we tried to establish that the form which this common tradition received in 1 Thessalonians 5:15 is not its traditional form, but rather the traditional form must be sought in the wording of Romans 12:17 and 1 Peter 3:9. On the basis, therefore, of the elements common to both Romans 12:17 and 1 Peter 3:9 we may conclude that the original form of the tradition contained the phrase along with the imperative participle and a negating particle ..."
John Piper, "Love Your Enemies": Jesus' Love Command in the Synoptic Gospels and in the Early Christian Paraenesis: A History of the Tradition and Interpretation of its Uses (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 15–16.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Romans 12:17 and 1 Peter 3:9

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