Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Romans 12:20 in other translations
| BSB | On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” |
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| WEB | Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.” |
| ASV | But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. |
| YLT | I will recompense again, saith the Lord;' if, then, thine enemy doth hunger, feed him; if he doth thirst, give him drink; for this doing, coals of fire thou shalt heap upon his head; |
| DARBY | If therefore thine enemy should hunger, feed him; if he should thirst, give him drink; for, so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. |
| BBE | But if one who has hate for you is in need of food or of drink, give it to him, for in so doing you will put coals of fire on his head. |
| Webster | Therefore if thy enemy hungereth, feed him; if he thirsteth, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. |
What does Romans 12:20 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 12:19-21
19-21. avenge not, &c.--(See on Ro 12:14). but rather give place unto wrath--This is usually taken to mean, "but give room or space for wrath to spend itself." But as the context shows that the injunction is to leave vengeance to God, "wrath" here seems to mean, not the offense, which we are tempted to avenge, but the avenging wrath of God (see 2Ch 24:18), which we are enjoined to await, or give room for. (So the…
Barnes' Notes
In so doing. It does not mean that we are to do this for the sake of heaping coals of fire on him, but that this will be the result.
Thou shalt heap, etc. Coals of fire are doubtless emblematical of pain. But the idea here is not that in so doing we shall call down Divine vengeance on the man; but the apostle is speaking of the natural effect or result of showing him kindness. Burning coals heaped on a man's head would be expressive of intense agony. So the apostle says that the effect of doing good to an enemy would be to produce pain. But the pain will result from shame, remorse of conscience, a conviction of the evil of his conduct, and an apprehension of Divine displeasure that may lead to repentance. To do this, is not only perfectly right, but it is desirable. If a man can be brought to reflection and true repentance, it should be done. In regard to this passage we may remark,
(1.) that the way to promote peace is to do good even to enemies.
(2.) The way to bring a man to repentance is to do him good. On this principle God is acting continually. He does good to all, even to the rebellious; and he designs that his goodness should lead men to repentance, Rom 2:4. Men will resist wrath, anger, and power; but goodness they cannot resist; it finds its way to the heart; and the conscience does its work, and the sinner is overwhelmed at the remembrance of his crimes.
(3.) If men would act on the principles of the gospel, the world would soon be at peace. No man would suffer himself many times to be overwhelmed in this way with coals of fire. It is not human nature, bad as it is; and if Christians would meet all unkindness with kindness, all malice with benevolence, and all wrong with right, peace would soon pervade the community, and even opposition to the gospel might soon die away.
(g) "If thine enemy hunger" Prov 25:21,22, Mt 5:44
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Romans 12:17-21
Since men became enemies to God, they have been very ready to be enemies one to another. And those that embrace religion, must expect to meet with enemies in a world whose smiles seldom agree with Christ's. Recompense to no man evil for evil. That is a brutish recompence, befitting only animals, which are not conscious of any being above them, or of any existence hereafter. And not only do, but study and take care…
Romans 12:20 in the original Greek
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Cross references for Romans 12:20
- Proverbs 25:21-22
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.
- Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
- Luke 6:27
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
- Exodus 23:4-5
If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
- 2 Kings 6:22
And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
- 1 Samuel 24:16-19
And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
- 1 Samuel 26:21
Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
- Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
- Psalms 140:10
Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
- Psalms 120:4
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
- Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
- Romans 12:21
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:20 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Así que, si tu enemigo tuviere hambre, dale de comer; si tuviere sed, dale de beber: que haciendo esto, ascuas de fuego amontonas sobre su cabeza. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | « Si donc ton ennemi a faim, donne-lui à manger; s’il a soif, donne-lui à boire; car en faisant cela tu entasseras des charbons de feu sur sa tête ». |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | "Wenn nun deinen Feind hungert, so speise ihn; wenn ihn dürstet, so tränke ihn; denn wenn du dieses tust, wirst du feurige Kohlen auf sein Haupt sammeln." |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Sed si esurierit inimicus tuus, ciba illum: si sitit, potum da illi: hoc enim faciens, carbones ignis congeres super caput ejus. |