Proverbs 20:22

22 Do not say, ¹"I will repay evil"; ²wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

Proverbs 20:22 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 20:22

Say not thou, I will recompense evil
With evil; do an injury to one that has done one to you; private revenge is not to be taken, but should be left to God, to whom vengeance belongs, ( Deuteronomy 32:35 Deuteronomy 32:41 ) ; [but] wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee;
commit thyself and cause to God; leave it with him to avenge thy wrongs; wait upon him in the way of thy duty, and wait his own time to do thee justice; he will at the proper season, and in his own way, save thee from thine enemy, and make a righteous retribution to him.

Proverbs 20:22 In-Context

20 If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

21 An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.

22 Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

23 Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD, and false scales are not good.

24 A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?

Cross References

• 1. Proverbs 24:29; [Proverbs 17:13; Matthew 5:39; Romans 12:17, 19; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9]
• 2. Psalms 27:14