The Scripture behind the Scripture

Vengeance Is Mine

Deuteronomy 32:35 declares that vengeance belongs to God, who will repay. Paul cites it in Romans 12:19 to forbid personal revenge, and Hebrews 10:30 uses it as a warning.

“To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.”Deuteronomy 32:35

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”Romans 12:19

“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”Hebrews 10:30

In its own place

In its own place. Deuteronomy 32 is the Song of Moses, a poetic testimony Moses taught Israel near the end of his life, rehearsing God's faithfulness and Israel's tendency to unfaithfulness. In the song God recounts how he found and cared for his people, how they would turn to idols and provoke him, and how judgment would come, yet also how God would ultimately vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. The line To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence, their foot shall slide in due time, expresses God's prerogative to judge and repay evil in his own time. In its original setting this is a declaration that God, not human beings, holds the right and the power to avenge wrongdoing and to render justice. It comes in the context of God dealing with the enemies of his people and with his people's own sin. The point is that God sees all wrongdoing and will repay it justly at the appointed time, so that final justice rests securely in his hands. It assures Israel that God's justice is certain, even when it seems delayed, and warns that no evil escapes his reckoning. Vengeance here is not petty retaliation but the just judgment that belongs to God alone as the righteous judge of all.

Where the New Testament takes it up

This is a direct quotation, applied in two different ways. Paul quotes it in Romans 12:19 in his teaching on how believers should treat enemies, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Paul draws a practical conclusion from the verse, that because God alone has the right to avenge, Christians must not take revenge but leave judgment to him, and instead overcome evil with good, even feeding a hungry enemy. Hebrews 10:30 quotes the same words as a warning to those tempted to fall away, reminding them that the Lord will judge his people and that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Both follow the sense of the text. The two uses are complementary. Paul uses God's ownership of vengeance to free believers from the burden and sin of retaliation, trusting God to set things right. Hebrews uses it soberly, that the God who repays will hold his own people accountable, so no one should presume on grace by deliberate, persistent sin. In both, the truth that vengeance belongs to God shapes Christian conduct, whether by restraining revenge or by warning against apostasy.