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Proverbs 25:21–22 and Romans 12:20

"Coals of fire upon his head"

"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee." Paul quotes the Greek of these verses in Romans 12:20 and adds: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." The witnesses agree; the meaning of the coals is debated.

Read Proverbs 25:21–22 and Romans 12:20 in every edition

Stable text: no manuscript differences in meaning

The family tree

Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.

✓ contains this verse · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives

  • Same line, through lost copies
  • Translation
  • Uncertain connection
Hebrew
  1. The proverb as first composedCollections from the monarchy to the Persian period (debated)
  2. Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The proverb as first composed
Greek
  1. Greek Proverbs (library: Giguet's French)Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872Translated from the Old Greek Proverbs
Latin
  1. Latin Vulgate (Clementine)Jerome c. AD 398, from Hebrew; edition 1592Translated from the Hebrew text Jerome used
English
  1. King James Bible1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew
New Testament quotation
  1. Greek New Testament (library: Statistical Restoration text)1st century AD; edition 2010sUncertain relationship to the proverb (which wording it followed is the question)

Every witness, in order

  1. Collections from the monarchy to the Persian period (debated)

    The proverb as first composed

    – No copy survives

    No original survives. The oldest Hebrew copies of Proverbs are two small Qumran fragments (4Q102, 4Q103, 1st century BC – 1st century AD, reported).

  2. 1st century AD; edition 2010s

    Greek New Testament (library: Statistical Restoration text)

    ✓ Contains this passageUncertain relationship to the proverb (which wording it followed is the question)

    How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: the Greek New Testament editions in the library (Textus Receptus, Byzantine Textform, Statistical Restoration).

    “Ἀλλὰ ἐὰν πεινᾷ ὁ ἐχθρός σου, ψώμιζε αὐτόν· ἐὰν διψᾷ, πότιζε αὐτόν· τοῦτο γὰρ ποιῶν, ἄνθρακας πυρὸς σωρεύσεις ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ.”

    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.

    Romans 12:20. KJV: "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."

  3. Jerome c. AD 398, from Hebrew; edition 1592

    Latin Vulgate (Clementine)

    ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Hebrew text Jerome used

    How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).

    Si esurierit inimicus tuus, ciba illum; si sitierit, da ei aquam bibere: prunas enim congregabis super caput ejus, et Dominus reddet tibi.

    Latin position: Proverbs 25:21–22. Jerome translated Proverbs from Hebrew (c. AD 398).

  4. AD 1008

    Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)

    ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The proverb as first composed

    How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

    אִם־רָעֵ֣ב שֹׂ֭נַאֲךָ הַאֲכִלֵ֣הוּ לָ֑חֶם וְאִם־צָ֝מֵ֗א הַשְׁקֵ֥הוּ מָֽיִם׃ כִּ֤י גֶֽחָלִ֗ים אַ֭תָּה חֹתֶ֣ה עַל־רֹאשׁ֑וֹ וֽ͏ַ֝יהוָ֗ה יְשַׁלֶּם־לָֽךְ׃

    If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread… for coals you are heaping on his head, and the LORD will repay you

    Hebrew position: Proverbs 25:21–22.

  5. 1611

    King James Bible

    ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

    How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).

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

  6. Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872

    Greek Proverbs (library: Giguet's French)

    ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Old Greek Proverbs

    How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.

    Si ton ennemi a faim, nourris-le; s’il a soif, donne-lui à boire. En agissant ainsi, tu amasseras sur sa tête des charbons ardents, et le Seigneur te comblera de biens.

    Greek (digital file) position: Proverbs 25:21–22. Giguet's 1872 French of a printed Greek text (D check). In chapters 24–31 the Greek follows a different order of collections, which the digital file squeezes into Hebrew slots; the matching line was found by content. No Göttingen critical edition of Greek Proverbs is published; a C check needs Rahlfs–Hanhart and specialist studies.

What changed, and why

Readings: (1) burning shame and remorse that may lead the enemy to repent (Augustine, Jerome, most modern commentators; supported by Paul's "overcome evil with good"); (2) an Egyptian rite of penitence in which a person carried a pan of burning coals on the head (S. Morenz, from a Demotic text; disputed); (3) God's judgment intensified by kindness refused. The verb chotheh means "snatch up, heap," as of coals from a fire.

Whatever the coals mean, the command is clear and striking: feed your enemy. It agrees with Exodus 23:4–5 (return your enemy's straying ox) and 24:17 (do not gloat), and anticipates Jesus' "love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44).

What the evidence shows

  • Independently documentedRomans 12:20 quotes Proverbs 25:21–22.
  • Plausible, not confirmed'Coals of fire' means shame leading to repentance.
  • Disputed'Coals of fire' refers to an Egyptian penitential rite.

Sources

    Related lessons

    • Proverbs 25: Copied Out by the Men of Hezekiah →Proverbs 25 opens with the only date-like note in the book: "These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out" (v. 1). The collection (25–29) starts with sayings about God, kings and courtiers (vv. 2–7), disputes (vv. 8–10) and speech (vv. 11–15: "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver"). Many sayings are comparisons from nature and daily life: snow at harvest, clouds without rain, a broken tooth, vinegar on soda. It includes the command to feed a hungry enemy, "for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head" (vv. 21–22), quoted by Paul in Romans 12:20.