Bible Strands
Romans 2:6
God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Roman church, specifically those who condemn others while practicing the same things (Romans 2:1). He is moving from their self-righteous judgment to the standard God will actually apply.
The words — ἀποδώσει (apodōsei) is the verb for settling a debt, giving back what is owed; it frames judgment as a transaction, not a mood. ἑκάστῳ (hekastō) pins the repayment to each individual, not a group.
The thread — The same formula appears in Psalms 62:12, Jeremiah 32:19, and Matthew 16:27, spanning Law, Prophets, and Gospel. It is a consistent thread from the Psalter through the Synoptics into Paul.
Why it lands — It forecloses the move of hiding behind a community, a lineage, or another person's righteousness. The reader is the unit of account, and the ledger is deeds.
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 Greek words
King James Version
Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Cross-references
- Psalms 62:12 and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
- Jeremiah 32:19 the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
- Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.
- Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
- Job 34:11 For according to a man’s deeds He repays him; according to a man’s ways He brings consequences.
- Isaiah 3:10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- 1 Corinthians 3:8 He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.