Do not say, “I shall do the same to him as he has done to me; I will repay the person according to his work.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”
- KJV Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
- BSB Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
- NKJV Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”
- NLT And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me! I’ll get even with them!”
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 repay wrong for wrong out of personal revenge. Leave retribution to God rather than retaliating.
Overview
The proverb forbids the instinct of tit-for-tat vengeance, anticipating the New Testament's fuller teaching not to repay evil for evil (Rom 12:17-19; 1 Thess 5:15). Justice belongs to God, who repays righteously. Christ embodies this perfectly, entrusting himself to the Father who judges justly and praying for his enemies (1 Pet 2:23).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 20:22Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
- Rom 12:17–21Repay 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 25:21–22If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:
- Matt 5:39–44But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
- 2 Sam 13:22–28Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
- Judg 15:11Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in Etam’s rock, and said to Samson, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” He said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”
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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 24:29 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.