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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 Proverbs 24:29 and Romans 12:17

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

In Romans, Paul urges believers not to repay evil with evil, echoing the warning to not take revenge from Proverbs 24, an ethical tradition in the Hebrew Bible that emphasizes avoiding retaliation and deferring justice to God.

Passages

Proverbs 24:29

Hebrew Bible
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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

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

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 ..."
Michael V. Fox, Proverbs 10–31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AYB 18B (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009), 787.

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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Proverbs 24:29 and Romans 12:17

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