Proverbs 20:22
in Proverbs 20Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Say not thou, I will recompense evil: Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.
KJV
Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
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This verse in Proverbs 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Desert FathersThe Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks · Written before 500.
A brother who was hurt by another brother went to the Theban Sisois and said, 'I want to get back at a brother who has hurt me.' The hermit begged him, 'Don't do that, my son, leave vengeance in the hands of God.' But he …
This site's exposition
Whoever curses his father or mother
on Proverbs 20:20-23
Whoever curses his father or mother carries the weight of Exodus 21:17 into a proverb, his lamp put out "in deepest darkness." The reader who would avenge evil is told to "Wait on the LORD," trading private revenge for the LORD's own timing.
This site's exposition
Wait on the LORD
The Desert Fathers tell of a brother, hurt by another, who went to a hermit and said he would avenge the evil. The hermit begged him to leave vengeance in the hands of God. The LORD will save the one who waits.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Say not thou, I will recompense evil,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I will recompense evil - Wait on the Lord; judgment is his, and his judgments are sure. In the mean time pray for the conversion of your enemy.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
God’s awarding to everyone according to his works, is the true check to the spirit of vindictiveness (compare Rom 12:17, Rom 12:19). Note that man is not told to wait on the Lord in expectation of seeing vengeance on his enemies, but “He shall save thee.” The difference of the two hopes, in their effect upon the man’s character, is incalculable.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֹּאמַ֥ר | tomar | you say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲשַׁלְּמָה־ | ʾashalemah- | I will repay | H7999 → | 116 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| קַוֵּ֥ה | kaveh | wait | H6960 → | |
| לַֽ֝יהוָ֗ה | layahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְיֹ֣שַֽׁע | veyosha' | so may he deliver | H3467 → | |
| לָֽךְ׃ | lakh | <to> you |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֹּאמַ֥רyou say
tomarH559 →5305 times
אֲשַׁלְּמָה־I will repay
ʾashalemah-H7999 →116 times
רָ֑עevil
ra'H7451 →662 times
קַוֵּ֥הwait
kavehH6960 →
לַֽ֝יהוָ֗הfor Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְיֹ֣שַֽׁעso may he deliver
veyosha'H3467 →
לָֽךְ׃<to> you
lakh
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
- Romans 12:17
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
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 12:14
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.”
- Luke 6:27–29
But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
- Romans 12:17
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 12:17–21
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- 1 Peter 3:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.