Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
- BSB Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
- 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 12:17–19Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
- 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.
- Prov 24:29Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
- Prov 17:13Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
- 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.
- Deut 32:35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
- 1 Pet 2:23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
- Matt 5:39But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
- 1 Pet 4:19Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
- Ps 27:14Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
- Ps 37:34Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
- Lam 3:25–26The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
- 2 Sam 16:12It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.
- Isa 40:31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
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 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
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