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Romans 12:19–21

19 aNever take your own revenge, beloved, but 1leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “bVengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

20 aBut if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Romans 12:19–21 — The New International Version (NIV)

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — English Standard Version (ESV)

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

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. 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. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — New Living Translation (NLT)

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”

says the Lord.

20 Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap

burning coals of shame on their heads.”

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Romans 12:19–21 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — New Century Version (NCV)

19 My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them,” says the Lord. 20 But you should do this:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him a drink.

Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.

Romans 12:19–21 — American Standard Version (ASV)

19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. 20 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. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

19 not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance belongs to me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. 20 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. 21 Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

19 Don’t take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God’s anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, “I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord.” 20 But, 

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him. 

If he is thirsty, give him a drink. 

If you do this, you will make him feel guilty and ashamed.” 

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good. 

Romans 12:19–21 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For in so doing

you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.

21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

19 Do not take revenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this, you will heap up coals of fire upon his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19–21 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

19 My friends, don’t try to get even. Leave room for God to show his anger. It is written, “I am the One who judges people. I will pay them back,” says the Lord. 20 Do just the opposite. Scripture says,

“If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

By doing those things, you will pile up burning coals on their heads.”

21 Don’t let evil overcome you. Overcome evil by doing good.


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