Romans 12:17 (KJV)

What does Romans 12:17 mean?

Romans 12:17 tells people not to answer someone’s wrongdoing with wrongdoing of their own. It also calls for thought about conduct that others can recognize as good, placing both the response to harm and public behavior in view.

Paul uses two broad phrases: “no man” and “all men.” The first leaves no one outside the instruction about retaliation; the second widens attention beyond the person who caused the harm. After the call to live in harmony in verse 16, Paul addresses situations where someone has done evil.

The Greek behind Romans 12:17

• “Recompense” — ἀποδίδωμι (apodidōmi): This word carries the sense of giving back or repaying. Here it pictures evil as something returned to the person who first did it.
• “Provide” — προνοέω (pronoeō): This word can mean to think about something beforehand or take thought for it. The phrase points to considered conduct, rather than merely supplying things.
• “honest” — καλός (kalos): This word often describes what is good, fitting, or admirable. In this verse, “honest” has a wider sense than telling the truth.

Why Romans 12:17 matters

• The verse joins two instructions rather than stopping at restraint. “Provide things honest” adds concern for what is visibly good to the refusal to repay evil.
• The wider passage places the instruction alongside a concern for peace. Verse 18 says, “as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men,” while verse 19 tells readers to leave vengeance to God.
• “In the sight of all men” makes conduct visible to other people. Paul’s wording gives attention to how actions appear in public, not only to the feelings of those directly involved.