Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 25:22
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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 Gods 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 Gods 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 mens 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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
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 Ro 12:20.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(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 Godwhose prerogative of vengeance (Rom. 12:19) has been usurpedand only serve to harden the offender in his hostility.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
heap, &c. = receive from thine enemy [and place] upon his head. Figure of speech Ellipsis (Relative), App-6. As hatha = receive, the Ellipsis must be thus supplied: i.e. If thou doest good to one whose burning words (Pro 16:27, Pro 26:23) thou hast received, they will burn him in another sense. Illustration: David (1Sa 24:16-22).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
For: Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness; a metaphor taken from smelting metalic ores.
the Lord: 2Sa 16:12, Mat 10:13, 1Co 15:18
Reciprocal: 1Sa 24:19 – the Lord 2Ki 6:22 – set bread 2Ki 6:23 – he prepared 2Ch 28:15 – gave them Pro 24:29 – Say Son 8:6 – the coals Mat 5:44 – General Luk 6:27 – Love Luk 10:34 – went Rom 12:20 – if thine
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
25:22 For thou shalt heap {p} coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
(p) You will, as if by force, overcome him, in so much that his own conscience will move him to acknowledge the benefits, and his heart will be inflamed.