Bible Strands
Proverbs 25:22
For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text addresses a reader instructed to meet an enemy's physical needs with food and water when they are hungry or thirsty.
The words — גֶֽחָלִים (gechalim) translates literally to "burning coals," and יְשַׁלֶּם (yeshallam) means "he will repay," framing the act of provision and its divine counter-response.
The thread — The passage aligns with 2 Samuel 16:12, where David asks Yahweh to see his affliction and repay him good, and Matthew 10:13, which states peace will rest on a worthy home or return to the messenger.
Why it lands — The verse commands practical kindness toward an adversary and states plainly that Yahweh will repay the doer, leaving the mechanism of how the enemy reacts to divine action rather than human control.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 16:12 Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”
- Matthew 10:13 If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it, but if it is not, let your peace return to you.
- 1 Corinthians 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.