Proverbs 17:13
in Proverbs 17If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whoso rewardeth evil for good, Evil shall not depart from his house.
KJV
Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
A reproof entereth more
on Proverbs 17:10-13
A single reproof sinks deeper into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool, the chapter's plain measure of how differently correction lands on a willing and an unwilling heart. The evil man's rebellion earns a cruel messenger in return, and meeting a bear robbed of her whelps is named the safer encounter than a fool bent on his folly, a comparison the bench reads as deliberate exaggeration for the sake of the warning. Rewarding good with evil is answered in kind, evil never departing from that house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Whoso rewardeth evil for good,.... As the enemies of David and Christ rewarded them, Psa 35:12; this is base ingratitude, contrary to the law and light of nature; worse than beastly, is really devilish; evil shall not depart from his house; from him and his family; they shall be continually visited with one disease and calamity or another; so hateful and offensive is the sin of ingratitude to God, and therefore ought to be carefully avoided. This might be illustrated by the judgments of God on the nation of the Jews, for their ingratitude to Christ.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Whoso rewardeth evil for good - Here is a most awful warning. As many persons are guilty of the sin of ingratitude, and of paying kindness with unkindness, and good with evil, it is no wonder we find so much wretchedness among men; for God’s word cannot fail; evil shall not depart from the houses and families of such persons.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
May a bereaving bear encounter a person It is better for a person that a bereaving bear encounter him rather than one of the foolish heathens, who entice him to idolatry.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The beginning of strife is like letting out water Whoever commences a quarrel is like one who opens a hole in the stone walls of a water canal, and the water goes out through it, and the hole becomes progressively wider; so does the quarrel constantly escalate.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵשִׁ֣יב | meshiv | [one who] returns | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| רָ֭עָה | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | for | H8478 → | 505 times |
| טוֹבָ֑ה | tovah | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָמ֥וּשׁ | tamish | it will depart | H4185 → | |
| רָ֝עָ֗ה | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| מִבֵּיתֽוֹ׃ | mibeito | from house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
מֵשִׁ֣יב[one who] returns
meshivH7725 →1056 times
רָ֭עָהevil
raahH7451 →662 times
תַּ֣חַתfor
tachatH8478 →505 times
טוֹבָ֑הgood
tovahH2896 →538 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָמ֥וּשׁit will depart
tamishH4185 →
רָ֝עָ֗הevil
raahH7451 →662 times
מִבֵּיתֽוֹ׃from house his
mibeitoH1004 →2046 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 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.
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 12:17
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
- Romans 12:14
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.
- Romans 12:19–21
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Proverbs 20:22
Through
Romans 12:17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 3:9
Do 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.
- Matthew 5:39
But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
- 2 Corinthians 8:20–21
We hope to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this generous gift.
- 1 Peter 3:9
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.