Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Parallel translations
- KJV Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
- BSB Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- NKJV Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- NASB Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- NLT Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
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 let evil defeat you; overcome evil with good.
Overview
This climactic verse summarizes Paul's teaching on responding to wrongdoing. Evil is not conquered by retaliation, which only spreads it, but by persistent good. This is the way of Christ, who overcame the world's evil through self-giving love, and it sets the pattern for Christian witness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 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.
- Luke 6:27–30“But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
- Prov 16:32One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 12:21 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.