“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. — The ethical summit: mē nikōmai (be conquered, overwhelmed) by kakos (evil) is impossible if one nikao (conquers) kakos with agathos (good). This final antithesis resolves chapter 12: good is not passive withdrawal but active, transformative power. Evil is overcome not by matching its violence but by transcending it with good.
Church Fathers on Romans 12:21
“If your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink; for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Why, he means, am I telling you that you must keep peace? For I even insist upon your doing kindness. For he says, “give him to eat, and give him to drink.” Then as the command he gave was a very difficult and a great one, he proceeds: “for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire upon his head.”…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!