Proverbs 24:29
in Proverbs 24Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Say not, I will do so to him as he hath 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.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 24
Commentary
4 notes on this verseSay not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me,.... He has falsely accused and reproached me, and bore a false testimony, or suborned false witnesses against me, and I will do the same to him, now an opportunity serves; but as private revenge itself is sinful, so especially when it is pursued in a wicked way; I will render to the man according to his work; this should be left to the Lord, whose prerogative it is; see Pro 24:19.
This site's exposition
Do not testify against your neighbor
on Proverbs 24:28-29
"Do not testify against your neighbor without cause" forbids false or needless testimony. The next verse forbids the private urge to repay injury with injury. Forbidding the words "I will repay the man according to his work" leaves repayment to a judge or to God.
This site's exposition
repay the man according to his work
John Gill pictures a man whose neighbor testified against him, planning to repay the man in kind. Gill counts private revenge a sin in itself. He leaves repayment to the LORD, and verse 12 has already named Him as the One who will repay a man according to his deeds.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A protest against vindictiveness in every form. Compare marginal reference.
The words behind it
11 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 |
| תֹּאמַ֗ר | tomar | you say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָֽשָׂה־ | ʾasah- | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִ֭י | li | to me | ||
| כֵּ֤ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־ | ʾeeseh- | I will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לּ֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| אָשִׁ֖יב | ʾashiv | I will repay | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לָאִ֣ישׁ | laish | to the person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כְּפָעֳלֽוֹ׃ | kefoolo | according to deed his | H6467 → | 37 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֹּאמַ֗רyou say
tomarH559 →5305 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
עָֽשָׂה־he has done
ʾasah-H6213 →2628 times
לִ֭יto me
li
כֵּ֤ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־I will do
ʾeeseh-H6213 →2628 times
לּ֑וֹto him
lo
אָשִׁ֖יבI will repay
ʾashivH7725 →1056 times
לָאִ֣ישׁto the person
laishH376 →1663 times
כְּפָעֳלֽוֹ׃according to deed his
kefooloH6467 →37 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
Proverbs 20:22Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
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 12:17–19
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
- 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.
- Proverbs 17:13
If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
- Deuteronomy 32:35
Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- 1 Peter 3:9
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
- Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- 3 John 1:11
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- Galatians 6:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.