Romans 12:17-21 To no person practice giving away (returning or repaying) evil in exchange for evil (ugly in the place of ugly; worthless, bad, ill, unsound, poor quality over against the same)! Habitually being folks taking thought in advance for fine things (or: constantly providing ideal things; continuously giving attention ahead of time with regard to things of good form and quality; repeatedly having forethought for beautiful situations) in the sight of all humanity,

JMNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹⁷ To no person practice giving away (returning or repaying) evil in exchange for evil (ugly in the place of ugly; worthless, bad, ill, unsound, poor quality over against the same)! Habitually being folks taking thought in advance for fine things (or: constantly providing ideal things; continuously giving attention ahead of time with regard to things of good form and quality; repeatedly having forethought for beautiful [situations]) in the sight of all humanity, ¹⁸ since [you are] full of power (or: if capable; if or since able) regarding that which has its source in you folks (or: as to that which proceeds from yourselves corporately), [live] being folks continuously at peace with all mankind (in the midst of all people), ¹⁹ not being folks habitually getting justice for yourselves (not maintaining what is right concerning yourselves; not avenging yourselves), beloved ones, but on the contrary, you folks must yield the position held in anger (or: give a place for [His] natural impulse, propensity, passion and personal emotion; give place to [His] intrinsic fervor; relinquish [your] right to anger or wrath), for it has been written, "'In Me (or: For or By Me) [is] maintenance of justice (execution of the Way pointed out; working out of the right); I Myself will continue giving away, instead (or: I will progressively be making a recompense [to you]; or: I will continue taking the opposing position of giving [it] away; or: in its place, I Myself will repeatedly repay [you]),' the Lord [= Yahweh] is habitually saying." [Deut. 32:25; comment: if we are not to practice giving away evil in exchange for evil (vs. 17, above), then we should not expect the Lord to do this] ²⁰ But further, "If your enemy (the one hostile to you) should perhaps be hungering (or: continues hungry), continue feeding him morsels (supplying him with food); if he may continue thirsting (be constantly thirsty), continue giving drink to him (causing him to drink), for while constantly practicing (performing; doing) this you will progressively pile on and heap up burning coals (embers) of fire upon his head." [Prov. 25:21-22] [comment: the directives of feeding and giving drink correspond to what was to be done for brothers in Matt. 25:35, 40; the metaphor of heaping coals may correspond to Isa. 6:6 where a coal from the incense altar purged sin, so being put on his head may be a picture of purging his thinking; Wuest suggests this as supplying a needed source of fire for someone's home, meeting a desperate need – Word Studies, vol. 1, p. 220; as the first two are blessings, I suggest that this latter also is] ²¹ Do not be habitually conquered under (or: Stop being overcome by) the worthless (the bad of quality; the ugly and unsound; the evil), but to the contrary, be constantly conquering (overcoming; victorious over) the worthless (the unsound, the bad and the ugly; the evil) [by being] in union with The Good One (or: [a participant] within what is profitable; or: in the midst of virtue). [comment: this verse points to a positive interpretation of the burning coals in vs. 20]