Limitless Word

Proverbs 20:22

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
Proverbs 20:22 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
  • KJV Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
  • NKJV Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
  • NASB Do not say, “I will repay evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
  • NLT Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.

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

Do not take personal revenge; wait for the Lord to deliver you. It matters because vengeance belongs to God, not to us.

Overview

Rather than repaying evil for evil, the wise entrust justice to God and wait patiently for his deliverance (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:17-19). This counsel frees the heart from bitterness and rests in God's righteous government. It is fulfilled in Christ, who 'when he was reviled, did not revile in return' but entrusted himself to the One who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • Rom 12:17–19Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
  • 1 Th 5:15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
  • Prov 24:29Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
  • Prov 17:13If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
  • 1 Pet 3:9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
  • Deut 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
  • 1 Pet 2:23When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
  • Matt 5:39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
  • 1 Pet 4:19So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
  • Ps 27:14Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
  • Ps 37:34Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
  • Lam 3:25–26The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
  • 2 Sam 16:12Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”
  • Isa 40:31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)
MALICERETALIATIONWAITING

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 20:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 20:22 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.

Sayאָמַרnot thou, I will recompenseשָׁלַםevilרַעbut wait onקָוָהthe LORDיְהֹוָהand he shall saveיָשַׁע
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