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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Therefore	οὖν oûn	G3767	(adverbially) certainly
if	ἐὰν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
thine	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
enemy	ἐχθρός echthros	G2190	hateful (passively · noun — nominative singular masculine
hunger	πεινᾷ peina	G3983	"pine") · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
feed	ψώμιζε psōmize	G5595	to supply with bits · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person singular
him	αὐτόν· auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
if	ἐὰν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
thirst	διψᾷ, dipsa	G1372	to thirst for (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
give	πότιζε potize	G4222	to furnish drink · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person singular
him	αὐτόν· auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
drink	ποτίζω potízō	G4222	to furnish drink
for	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
so	τοῦτο toûto	G5124	that thing
doing	ποιῶν poiōn	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
heap	σωρεύσεις sōreuseis	G4987	to pile up (literally or figuratively) · verb — future active indicative, 2nd person singular
coals	ἄνθρακας anthrakas	G440	a live coal · noun — accusative plural masculine
fire	πυρὸς puros	G4442	"fire" (literally or figuratively · noun — genitive singular neuter
on	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
his	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
head	κεφαλὴν kephalēn	G2776	the head (as the part most readily taken hold of) · noun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 25:21-22 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
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 yo…
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.
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 brea…
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…
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: b…
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…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 12:1–end

We may observe here, according to the scheme mentioned in the contents, the apostle's exhortations, I. Concerning our duty to God, We see what is godliness. 1. It is to surrender ourselves to God, and so to lay a good foundation. We must first give our own selves unto the Lord, Co2 8:5. This is here pressed as the spring of all duty and obedience, Rom 12:1, Rom 12:2. Man consists of body and soul, Gen 2:7; Ecc 12:7. (1.) The body must be presented to him, Rom 12:1. The body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, Co1 6:13, Co1 6:14. The exhortation is here introduced very pathetically: I beseech you, brethren. Though he was a great apostle, yet he calls the meanest Christians brethren, a…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 12:20

if thine enemy hunger, &c.--This is taken from Pro 25:21-22, which without doubt supplied the basis of those lofty precepts on that subject which form the culminating point of the Sermon on the Mount. in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head--As the heaping of "coals of fire" is in the Old Testament the figurative expression of divine vengeance (Psa 140:10; Psa 11:6, &c.), the true sense of these words seems to be, "That will be the most effectual vengeance--a vengeance under which he will be fain to bend" (So ALFORD, HODGE, &c.). Rom 12:21 confirms this.

Adam Clarke on Romans 12:20

If thine enemy hunger, feed him - Do not withhold from any man the offices of mercy and kindness; you have been God's enemy, and yet God fed, clothed, and preserved you alive: do to your enemy as God has done to you. If your enemy be hungry, feed him; if he be thirsty, give him drink: so has God dealt with you. And has not a sense of his goodness and long-suffering towards you been a means of melting down your heart into penitential compunction, gratitude, and love towards him? How know you that a similar conduct towards your enemy may not have the same gracious influence on him towards you? Your kindness may be the means of begetting in him a sense of his guilt; and, from being your fell en…

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The Church Fathers

He who avenges himself is not worthy of the vengeance of the Lord.
— Jerome, Against Rufinus 3.2

Paul is not suggesting that we do anything wicked; on the contrary, he is wisely and cleverly checking and containing the violence of the one who is angry.
— Diodorus of Tarsus, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

We are not to revile and condemn our enemy, as the world does, but rather we are to correct him and lead him to repentance so that, being won over by our good deeds, he may be softened by the fire of charity and may cease to be an enemy.
— Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.30

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Coal — It is by no means certain that the Hebrews were acquainted with mineral coal, although it is found in Syria. Their common fuel was dried dung of animals and wood charcoal. Two different words are…
Commandments · PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES — PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES
Conduct, Christian · Forgiving injuries — Forgiving injuries
Enemies · Should be: Assisted — Should be: Assisted
Enemy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Forgiveness · OF ENEMIES — OF ENEMIES
Forgiveness Of Injuries · Kindness — Kindness
Hospitality · Specially to be shown to: Enemies — Specially to be shown to: Enemies
Love To Man · Should be exhibited, toward: Enemies — Should be exhibited, toward: Enemies
Mercy · Enjoined — Enjoined
Poor · 7:10; — 7:10;
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Revenge · Instead of taking, we should: Overcome others by kindness — Instead of taking, we should: Overcome others by kindness

Romans 12:20

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 12:1–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 12:20

Adam Clarke on Romans 12:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Romans 12:20

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 12:1–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 12:20

Adam Clarke on Romans 12:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Romans 12:20

John Calvin on Romans 12:20–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Romans 12:20-21