Evil for Evil

Returning evil for evil — repaying harm with harm, injury with injury — is the natural human response to wrong and the object of one of the NT's most explicit prohibitions. The principle of proportional retaliation (lex talionis: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21) was given in Mosaic law to limit disproportionate private vengeance by placing justice in the hands of courts, not individuals. Jesus cites and transcends the formula in the Sermon on the Mount, commanding non-resistance and active love of enemies instead (Matt. 5:38–42). Paul states the prohibition plainly: "Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all" (Rom. 12:17). Peter grounds the renunciation of evil for evil in Christ's example — he did not return curse for curse but entrusted himself to the righteous Judge (1 Pet. 2:23; 3:9). The positive command that accompanies the prohibition transforms the ethics entirely: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:21). This is not passivity but a deliberate offensive — meeting harm with love, which alone has power to transform the wrongdoer and display the character of God (Luke 6:35).