Proverbs 24:12

Hebrew Bible

10 You have slacked off in the day of trouble— your strength is small! 11 Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. 12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,” won’t the one who evaluates hearts discern it? Won’t the one who guards your life realize and repay each person according to his deeds? 13 Eat honey, my child, for it is good, and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. 14 Likewise, know that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you have found it, you have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Romans 2:6

New Testament

4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! 6 He will reward each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 8 but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.

 Notes and References

"... Two NT allusions to Proverbs reflect a general biblical literacy more than any specific manner of interpreting the text. When both Jesus in Matthew 16:27 and Paul in Romans 2:6 apparently cite part of Proverbs 24:12 (“Will not [God] repay a man according to his work?”), it is doubtful that either was reflecting on the context of these words in Proverbs. Rather, the language of Proverbs has influenced the rhetoric of Jesus and Paul. That is, both speak in the idiom of the Old Testament. We should note that similar language also appears in Psalm 62:12 ..."

Longman, Tremper, and Peter Enns Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (p. 569) Inter-Varsity Press, 2008

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