Rom. 12:20 in context
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Rom. 12:19      Rom. 12:21

Romans 12:20


But if your enemy is hungry,
give him food to eat,
if he is thirsty,
give him drink.
Then you will heap burning coals on his head.
[What does it mean to "heap burning coals on someone's head"? Is it to create a burning pain on your enemy's head? Based on the context, it must lead to something positive because the next verse talks about overcoming evil with good. Paul was well versed in the Old Testament and quotes here Prov 25:21–22 where this proverb is included in a passage with several proverbs where something physical describes something emotional. Taking off your outer garments on a cold day illustrates how inappropriate it is to sing cheerful songs to someone who is grieving, see Prov 25:20. Gossip is compared to the north wind in Prov 25:23.
Similarly, the burning coals refer to the emotional discomfort your enemy feels when his conscience is awakened by your kind treatment. Your good deeds burn in his conscience over the wrong he has done to you and will hopefully lead him to repent and be restored.]
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The greek text BETA

Nestle-Aland (NA)

ἀλλ᾽   ἐὰν   πεινᾷ   ὁ   ἐχθρός   σου,   ψώμιζε   αὐτόν·   ἐὰν   διψᾷ,   πότιζε   αὐτόν·   τοῦτο   γὰρ   ποιῶν   ἄνθρακας   πυρὸς   σωρεύσεις   ἐπὶ   τὴν   κεφαλὴν   αὐτοῦ.  

Textus Receptus (TR)

ἀλλ᾽   ἐὰν   πεινᾷ   ὁ   ἐχθρός   σου,   ψώμιζε   αὐτόν·   ἐὰν   διψᾷ,   πότιζε   αὐτόν·   τοῦτο   γὰρ   ποιῶν   ἄνθρακας   πυρὸς   σωρεύσεις   ἐπὶ   τὴν   κεφαλὴν   αὐτοῦ.  

Manuscript comments

TR has 21 Words, NA has 22 (+1).


Interlinear — horizontal

Below is an interlinear translation which follows the original scripture word for word. We are still working on the lexicon. Please contact us if you want to help.





Interlinear — table

Below is an interlinear version in table form that follows the word order of the original text. Clicking on the Strongs number will show the words in their basic form (note that sometimes the grammar causes not only the endings to change, but also the initial letters of the word).


Strongs nr Greek English Grammar Code
G0235
 ἀλλ᾽ (all)
 On the contrary,
Conj. Conjunktion
 CONJ
G1437
 ἐὰν (ean)
 If
Cond. part./conj. Conditional Particle or Conjunction
 COND
G3983
 πεινᾷ (peina)
 shall hunger
VERB Verb
pres. active subj. present active subjunctive
sing. third person singular
V-PAS-3S
G3588
 ὁ (o)
 the
Definite article Definite article
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
T-NSM
G2190
 ἐχθρός (echthros)
 enemy
Noun Noun
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
N-NSM
G4771
 σου, (soy,)
 of you,
Personal Pron. Personal Pronoun
gen. sing. second person genitive singular
P-2GS
G5595
 ψώμιζε (psomize)
 do feed
VERB Verb
pres. active imp. present active imperative
sing. second person singular
V-PAM-2S
G0846
 αὐτόν· (ayton.)
 him;
Personal Pron. Personal Pronoun
acc. sing. ♂ accusative singular masculine
P-ASM
G1437
 ἐὰν (ean)
 if
Cond. part./conj. Conditional Particle or Conjunction
 COND
G1372
 διψᾷ, (dipsa,)
 he shall thirst,
VERB Verb
pres. active subj. present active subjunctive
sing. third person singular
V-PAS-3S
G4222
 πότιζε (potize)
 do give drink
VERB Verb
pres. active imp. present active imperative
sing. second person singular
V-PAM-2S
G0846
 αὐτόν· (ayton.)
 him;
Personal Pron. Personal Pronoun
acc. sing. ♂ accusative singular masculine
P-ASM
G3778
 τοῦτο (toyto)
 this
Demonstrative pron. Demonstrative pronoun
acc. sing. neut. accusative singular Neutral
D-ASN
G1063
 γὰρ (gar)
 for
Conj. Conjunktion
 CONJ
G4160
 ποιῶν (poion)
 doing,
VERB Verb
pres. active part. present active Participle
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
V-PAP-NSM
G0440
 ἄνθρακας (anthrakas)
 coals
Noun Noun
acc. pl. ♂ accusative plural masculine
N-APM
G4442
 πυρὸς (pyros)
 of fire
Noun Noun
gen. sing. neut. genitive singular Neutral
N-GSN
G4987
 σωρεύσεις (soreyseis)
 you will heap
VERB Verb
fut. active ind. future active indicative
sing. second person singular
V-FAI-2S
G1909
 ἐπὶ (epi)
 upon
Preposition Preposition
 PREP
G3588
 τὴν (ten)
 the
Definite article Definite article
acc. sing. ♀ accusative singular feminine
T-ASF
G2776
 κεφαλὴν (kephalen)
 head
Noun Noun
acc. sing. ♀ accusative singular feminine
N-ASF
G0846
 αὐτοῦ. (aytoy.)
 of him.”
Personal Pron. Personal Pronoun
gen. sing. ♂ genitive singular masculine
P-GSM

The color of the words tell you how rare the word is, the more red, the fewer uses.

Colorscale:  
1-5
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|11-50
|51-100
|101-500
|501-1000
|1000+

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