Genesis 44:4

44:4 They had not gone very far from the city ¹  when Joseph said ²  to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! ³  When you overtake ⁴  them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?

Psalms 35:12

35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done; ⁵ 

I am overwhelmed with sorrow. ⁶ 

Psalms 38:20

38:20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;

though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me. ⁷ 

Psalms 109:3-5

109:3 They surround me and say hateful things; ⁸ 

they attack me for no reason.

109:4 They repay my love with accusations, ⁹ 

but I continue to pray. ¹⁰ 

109:5 They repay me evil for good, ¹¹ 

and hate for love.

Proverbs 17:13

17:13 As for the one who repays ¹²  evil for good,

evil will not leave ¹³  his house. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 18:20

18:20 Should good be paid back with evil?

Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. ¹⁵ 

Just remember how I stood before you

pleading on their behalf ¹⁶ 

to keep you from venting your anger on them. ¹⁷ 

Romans 12:21

12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁸  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ¹⁹  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 2:20

2:20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth –

Romans 3:17

3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.” ²⁰ 

[44:4]  ¹ tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”

[44:4]  ² tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

[44:4]  ³ tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[44:4]  ⁴ tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”

[35:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “they repay me evil instead of good.”

[35:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “[there is] bereavement to my soul.”

[38:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”

[109:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”

[109:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

[109:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

[109:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”

[17:13]  ¹² tn The sentence begins with the participle מֵשִׁיב (meshiv, “the one who repays”). The whole first colon may be taken as an independent nominative absolute, with the formal sentence to follow. Some English versions have made the first colon a condition by supplying “if” (NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT).

[17:13]  ¹³ tn The verb מוּשׁ (mush) means “to depart; to remove.” The Kethib is a Hiphil, which would yield a meaning of “to take away”; so the Qere, which is the Qal, makes more sense in the line.

[17:13]  ¹⁴ sn The proverb does not explain whether God will turn evil back on him directly or whether people will begin to treat him as he treated others.

[18:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “They are plotting to kill me”; Heb “They have dug a pit for my soul.” This is a common metaphor for plotting against someone. See BDB 500 s.v. כָּרָה Qal and for an example see Pss 7:16 (7:15 HT) in its context.

[18:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to speak good concerning them” going back to the concept of “good” being paid back with evil.

[18:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to turn back your anger from them.”

[12:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[3:17]  ²⁰ sn Rom 3:15-17 is a quotation from Isa 59:7-8.