Do not retaliate against evil; entrust the wrong to the LORD, who alone can judge and save rightly.
Solomon redirects the appetite for revenge in Proverbs 20:22: Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the LORD, and He will save you (v. 22). The verse reorients the wronged person away from retaliation.
To say I will repay evil is the natural temptation when someone is harmed. The appetite for retaliation feels like justice. Solomon stops the wise person before that sentence finishes, because repayment is God's domain, not man's.
The instruction is to wait for the LORD, and He will save you. The wise response hands the wrong to the One who alone has the standing and the perspective to deal with it rightly. Paul quotes the same idea in Romans 12:17-19. Waiting for the LORD is acknowledging who is judge and who is not.
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Proverbs 20:22 meaning
Solomon redirects the appetite for revenge in Proverbs 20:22: Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the LORD, and He will save you (v. 22). The verse reorients the wronged person away from retaliation.
To say I will repay evil is the natural temptation when someone is harmed. The appetite for retaliation feels like justice. Solomon stops the wise person before that sentence finishes, because repayment is God's domain, not man's.
The instruction is to wait for the LORD, and He will save you. The wise response hands the wrong to the One who alone has the standing and the perspective to deal with it rightly. Paul quotes the same idea in Romans 12:17-19. Waiting for the LORD is acknowledging who is judge and who is not.