Malice

Concept

Malice (Hebrew ra; Greek kakia) is the deliberate intention to harm another — the settled disposition of ill-will that seeks to injure, destroy, or corrupt. Scripture treats malice as one of the root sins of a fallen nature: Leviticus forbids the nursing of hatred against a neighbor (Lev. 19:17–18), and the prophets connect malice with violence and oppression (Mic. 2:1; Isa. 32:7). In the NT, Paul lists malice as part of the catalog of pre-conversion vices from which believers are called to be cleansed (Eph. 4:31; Col. 3:8; Tit. 3:3), pairing it with bitterness, anger, and slander. The apostle Peter similarly calls Christians to lay aside "all malice" (1 Pet. 2:1). The antidote is not mere restraint but a renewed heart: the command to love enemies (Matt. 5:44) and to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21) strikes at malice's root by replacing ill-will with active benevolence. The final judgment will expose and condemn the malicious intentions hidden from human sight (1 Cor. 4:5).