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Read the Bible

King James Version

Proverbs 25:22

For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Beneficence;   Coal;   Enemy;   Forgiveness;   Quotations and Allusions;   Thompson Chain Reference - Duty;   Enemies;   Love;   Social Duties;   Social Life;   The Topic Concordance - Enemies;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Revenge;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Proverb, the Book of;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Coal;   Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Head;   Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Coals ;   Hating, Hatred;   Head;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Coal;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Prov'erbs, Book of;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Head;   Heap;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Coal;   Fire;   Head;   Heap;   Law in the New Testament;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - 'Awira, Rab;   Coal;  

Devotionals:

- Today's Word from Skip Moen - Devotion for May 15;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
for you will heap burning coals on his head,and the Lord will reward you.
Hebrew Names Version
For you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.
English Standard Version
for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
New American Standard Bible
For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you.
New Century Version
Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Amplified Bible
For in doing so, you will heap coals of fire upon his head, And the LORD will reward you.
World English Bible
For you will heap coals of fire on his head, And Yahweh will reward you.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For thou shalt lay coles vpon his head, and the Lord shall recompense thee.
Legacy Standard Bible
For you will heap burning coals on his head,And Yahweh will repay you.
Berean Standard Bible
For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
Contemporary English Version
This will be the same as piling burning coals on their heads. And the Lord will reward you.
Complete Jewish Bible
For you will heap fiery coals [of shame] on his head, and Adonai will reward you.
Darby Translation
for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and Jehovah shall reward thee.
Easy-to-Read Version
This will make them feel the burning pain of shame, and the Lord will reward you for being good to them.
George Lamsa Translation
For when you shall do these things for him, you will heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD will reward you.
Good News Translation
You will make them burn with shame, and the Lord will reward you.
Lexham English Bible
For coals of fire you will heap upon his head, and Yahweh will reward you.
Literal Translation
for you shall heap coals of fire on his head, and Jehovah shall reward you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
for so shalt thou heape coales offyre vpo his heade, and the LORDE shal rewarde the.
American Standard Version
For thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head, And Jehovah will reward thee.
Bible in Basic English
For so you will put coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will give you your reward.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
For thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD will reward thee.
King James Version (1611)
For thou shalt heape coales of fire vpon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For so shalt thou heape coles of fire vpon his head, and the Lorde shall rewarde thee.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
if a servant reign; or a fool be filled with food;
English Revised Version
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
for thou schalt gadere togidere coolis on his heed; and the Lord schal yelde to thee.
Update Bible Version
For you will heap coals of fire on his head, And Yahweh will reward you.
Webster's Bible Translation
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD will reward thee.
New English Translation
for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
New King James Version
For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.
New Living Translation
You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.
New Life Bible
If you do that, you will be making him more ashamed of himself, and the Lord will reward you.
New Revised Standard
for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, burning coals, shalt thou be heaping upon his head, - and, Yahweh, will repay thee.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For thou shalt heap hot coals upon his head, and the Lord will reward thee.
Revised Standard Version
for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
Young's Literal Translation
For coals thou art putting on his head, And Jehovah giveth recompense to thee.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you.

Contextual Overview

21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

For: Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness; a metaphor taken from smelting metalic ores.

the Lord: 2 Samuel 16:12, Matthew 10:13, 1 Corinthians 15:18

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 24:19 - the Lord 2 Kings 6:22 - set bread 2 Kings 6:23 - he prepared 2 Chronicles 28:15 - gave them Proverbs 24:29 - Say Song of Solomon 8:6 - the coals Matthew 5:44 - General Luke 6:27 - Love Luke 10:34 - went Romans 12:20 - if thine

Cross-References

1 Samuel 9:9
(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
1 Samuel 10:22
Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold he hath hid himself among the stuff.
1 Samuel 22:15
Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.
1 Samuel 28:6
And when Saul enquired of the Lord , the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
1 Samuel 30:8
And David enquired at the Lord , saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
Ezekiel 20:31
For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God , I will not be enquired of by you.
Ezekiel 36:37
Thus saith the Lord God ; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For thou shall heap coals of fire upon his head,.... Not to increase his punishment and damnation, the more aggravated by kindness shown him; but to bring him by such means to a sense of former injuries, and to shame for them, repentance of them, and love of the person injured, and carefulness for the future of doing him any further wrong;

and the Lord shall reward thee: with good things, for all the good done to thine enemy, whether it has the desired effect on him or not; or whether he rewards thee or not; see Romans 12:20.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A precept reproduced by Paul Romans 12:20; the second clause of which seems at first sight to suggest a motive incompatible with a true charity. Leviticus 16:12 suggests an explanation. The high priest on the Day of Atonement was to take his censer, to fill it with “coals of fire,” and then to put the incense thereon for a sweet-smelling savor. So it is here. The first emotion in another caused by the good done to him may be one of burning shame, but the shame will do its work and the heart also will burn, and prayer and confession and thanksgiving will rise as incense to the throne of God. Thus, “we shall overcome evil with good.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 25:22. Thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head — Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness; a metaphor taken from smelting metallic ores: -

So artists melt the sullen ore of lead,

By heaping coals of fire upon its head:

In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow,

And pure from dross the silver runs below.

S. WESLEY.


 
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