Do not say, “I will repay evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
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.
- 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.
- 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 12:17–19Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
- 1 Th 5:15See that no one returns evil for evil to anyone, but always follow after that which is good, for one another, and for all.
- Prov 24:29Don’t say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”
- Prov 17:13Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
- 1 Pet 3:9not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult; but instead blessing; knowing that to this were you called, that you may inherit a blessing.
- Deut 32:35Vengeance is mine, and recompense, at the time when their foot slides; for the day of their calamity is at hand. Their doom rushes at them.”
- 1 Pet 2:23Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously;
- Matt 5:39But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
- 1 Pet 4:19Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.
- Ps 27:14Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh.
- Ps 37:34Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
- Lam 3:25–26Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
- 2 Sam 16:12It may be that Yahweh will look on the wrong done to me, and that Yahweh will repay me good for the cursing of me today.”
- Isa 40:31But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
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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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