Proverbs 25:22

Pro 25:22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.

Ver. 22. For thou shalt heap coals of fire.] By heaping courtesies upon him, thou shalt win him over to thyself, as the king of Israel did those Syrians he feasted. They came no more after that by way of ambush or incursion into the bounds of Israel. In doing some good to our enemies, we do most to ourselves.

And the Lord shall reward thee.] However men deal with thee. It may be they may prove dross that will not be melted, dirt that will not be mollified, but moulder to nothing, crumble to crattle as stones, &c., as having no metal of ingenuity or good nature in them. But desist not, despond not; "God will reward thee," and his retributions are more than bountiful. Or, as the words may be read, "God will pacify for thee," as he did Saul for David. Never did a charitable act go away without a blessing. God cannot but love in us this imitation of his mercy, who bids his sun to shine upon the evil and unthankful, and that love is never fruitless.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt, as it were by force, overcome him, insomuch that his own conscience shall move him to acknowledge the benefits, and his heart shall be inflamed.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 22. Thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head] Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness; a metaphor taken from smelting metallic ores: -

So artists melt the sullen ore of lead,

By heaping coals of fire upon its head:

In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow,

And pure from dross the silver runs below.

S. WESLEY.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(22) Thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.—Thou shalt make him burn with shame at the thought of the wrong he has done thee. Thus, to bring a sinner to repentance is well-pleasing to the Lord, who shall reward thee for it. This is better far than to indulge resentment, which must bring sorrow to oneself, punishment from God—whose prerogative of vengeance (Rom_12:19) has been usurped—and only serve to harden the offender in his hostility.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. heap coals of fire upon his head] i.e. take the most effectual vengeance upon him. It is best to take the expression both here, and in the Epistle to the Romans, where it is quoted, in the simplest sense of taking vengeance, expressed by a familiar figure (Psa_120:4; Psa_140:10), without carrying out the figure into any idea of the effect upon your enemy, whether for good or for evil, of your conduct: q.d. your natural desire is to be avenged, let this ‘feeding him’ and ‘giving him drink’ be the effective form of vengeance which you adopt. And as an incentive remember that in doing him good you will bring a blessing upon yourself: “the Lord shall reward thee.” The proverb thus belongs by anticipation to the highest sphere of moral teaching, Mat_5:44; Rom_12:20.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For thou shall heap coals of fire upon his head,.... Not to increase his punishment and damnation, the more aggravated by kindness shown him; but to bring him by such means to a sense of former injuries, and to shame for them, repentance of them, and love of the person injured, and carefulness for the future of doing him any further wrong;

and the Lord shall reward thee: with good things, for all the good done to thine enemy, whether it has the desired effect on him or not; or whether he rewards thee or not; see Rom 12:20.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Coals of charity; (St. Chrysostom in Romans xii. 20.) or, if he prove obstinate, his punishment will be the greater. (Geier.) --- The former sense is more received. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

For, understand, in so doing, which words are expressed Rom 12:20, where this text is quoted,

thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head; either,

1. In a bad sense, thou shalt hereby aggravate his sin, and occasion a more speedy and grievous vengeance from God, which, like fire from heaven, shall fall upon his head and consume him. Not that he persuades him to do a kindness with an evil intent, with an expectation, or desire, or design of bringing God’s wrath upon him; but only he foretells what would happen, and dissuades him from taking vengeance, and provokes him to kindness instead of it, because vengeance is God’s peculiar work, which he will certainly inflict upon such persons; which argument is used to that very purpose by St. Paul, Rom 12:19. Or,

2. In a good sense, thou shalt melt him into repentance, and inflame him with love and kindness to thee for so unexpected and undeserved a favour; he shall be as heartily grieved and tormented with the thoughts of his vile and wicked carriage to thee, as a man would be that had burning coals of fire heaped upon his head. But if these coals of fire do not melt him, but still he hardens his heart against thee, they will consume him. Thus either by the one or by the other way thou shalt be secured and delivered from him. The metaphor may seem to be taken from founders, who melt the hardest metals by heaping coals of fire upon them. And the head may be here mentioned rather than any other part, because in Scripture phrase both blessings and curses are said to fall upon men’s heads, i.e. upon them, heads being frequently put for persons.

The Lord shall reward thee; thy charity to him shall be fully recompensed to thee, if not by him, yet by God, which is far better.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. This expression has been taken in various senses. It has been thought to mean that the forgiveness of the injured person brings to the cheek of the offender the burning blush of shame. But heaping coals on the head cannot naturally be taken to express such an idea. St. Chrysostom and other Fathers consider that Divine vengeance is implied, as in Psa_11:6, "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be their portion;" and Psa_140:10, "Let burning coals fall upon them." Of course, in one view, kindness to an evil man only gives him occasion for fresh ingratitude and hatred, and therefore increases God"s wrath against him. But it would be a wicked motive to act this beneficent part only to have the satisfaction of seeing your injurer humbled or punished. And the gnome implies that the sinner is benefited by the clemency shown to him, that the requital of evil by good brings the offender to a better mind, and aids his spiritual life. "Coals of fire" are a metaphor for the penetrating pain of remorse and repentance. The unmerited kindness which he receives forces upon him the consciousness of his ill doing, which is accompanied by the sharp rain of regret. St. Augustine, "Ne dubitaveris figurate dictum...ut intelligas carbones ignis esse urentes poenitentiae gemitus, quibus superbia sanatur ejus, qui dolit se inimicum fuisse hominis, a quo ejus miseriae subvenitur" ("De Doctr. Christ.," 3:16). Lesetre quotes St. Francis de Sales, who gives again a different view, "You are not obliged to seek reconciliation with one who has offended you; it may be rather his part to seek you; yet nevertheless go and follow the Saviour"s counsel, prevent him with good, render him good for evil: heap coals of fire on his head and on his heart, which may burn up all ill will and constrain him to love you" ("De l"Am. de Dieu," 8:9). And the Lord shall reward thee. This consideration can scarcely be regarded as the chief motive for the liberality enjoined, though it would be present to the kind person"s mind, and be a support and comfort to him in a course of conduct repugnant to the natural man. He would remember the glorious reward promised to godliness by the prophet, (Isa_58:8, etc.) and how Saul had expressed his consciousness of David"s magnanimity in sparing his life. "Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil... wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day". (1Sa_24:17, 19 and 1Sa_26:21)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For - In so doing, which words are expressed Rom. xii, 20, where this text is quoted. Thou shalt melt him into repentance, and love.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

for...coals they are to him, that you are scooping from the fire to heap upon his head.

scooping Heb. חותה. Any scooping of coals from a fire is called חותה, as it is stated (Isa. 30:14): “to scoop (לחתות) fire from a hearth.”

will reward you Heb. ישלם לך, will cause him to make peace with you, that he should not overpower you.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.