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 Deuteronomy 32:35 and Onkelos Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:19

Hebrew Bible · Targum · New Testament

Summary

Deuteronomy 32 has God claim revenge and repayment. In Romans, Paul quotes this in a form matching neither the Hebrew nor the Greek Septuagint translation, but matching the Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos.

Passages

Deuteronomy 32:35

Hebrew Bible

33 Their wine is snakes’ poison, the deadly venom of cobras. 34 “Is this not stored up with me?” says the Lord, “Is it not sealed up in my storehouses? 35 I will get revenge and pay them back at the time their foot slips; for the day of their disaster is near, and the impending judgment is rushing upon them!” 36 The Lord will judge his people, and will have compassion on his servants;⁶² when he sees that their power has disappeared, and that no one is left, whether confined or set free. 37 He will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in whom they sought security,

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Onkelos Deuteronomy 32:35

Targum

33 The cup of their punishment is like the poison of venomous serpents and like the heads of cruel cobras. 34 Are not all their works known before Me, stored in My treasures against the day of judgment? 35 Their punishment is before Me, and I will repay; in the time of their dispersion from their land; for the day of their ruin draws near, and that which is prepared for them is coming quickly. 36 For the Lord shall decide the judgment of His people, and He will avenge His righteous servants; for it is seen before Him, that in the time when the stroke of their enemies would prevail against them, they will be wavering like those who are abandoned. 37 And He will say: Where are their idols, the mighty things in which they had trusted,

50–500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Onkelos Deuteronomy

Romans 12:19

New Testament

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.

55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

“... The statement, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay’ (from Deut. 32:35), is quoted in Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30 in a form corresponding neither to the Hebrew text nor to the Septuagint, but to the Aramaic Targums on the Pentateuch. That renderings or paraphrases known to us only from the Targums were found also in Greek versions of the Old Testament in the first century AD is suggested also by such expressions as ‘lest they should … be forgiven’ (Mark 4:12) in a quotation from Isaiah 6:10 where the Hebrew and Septuagint read ‘lest they … be healed’; and ‘he gave gifts to men’ (Eph. 4:8) in a quotation from Psalm 68:18 (LXX 67:19) where the Hebrew and Septuagint read ‘… received gifts among men’. ...”

F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1988), 68.

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

Romans16 chapters

Compare Deuteronomy 32:35 and Onkelos Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:19

Summary

Passages

Deuteronomy 32:35

Onkelos Deuteronomy 32:35

Romans 12:19

References

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