Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
- BSB If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
- NKJV Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.
- NASB One who returns evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.
- NLT If you repay good with evil, evil will never leave your house.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Repaying good with evil brings lasting trouble on one's own household. It matters because ingratitude and treachery sow enduring consequences.
Overview
This proverb warns that returning evil for good will keep evil ever present in one's house. Betraying kindness is a grave wrong that recoils upon the offender. The principle stands in sharp contrast to the gospel, where God repays our evil with good in Christ (Romans 5:8-10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 109:4–13For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
- 1 Pet 3:9Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
- Rom 12:17Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
- Ps 55:12–15For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
- Ps 38:20They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
- Ps 35:12They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
- 2 Sam 12:10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
- 1 Th 5:15See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
- Matt 27:5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
- 1 Sam 24:17And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
- Jer 18:20–21Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
- 1 Sam 31:2–3And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul’s sons.
- 2 Sam 21:1–14Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
- Matt 27:25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 17:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.