What Does 1 Thessalonians 5:15 Mean?
Watch that no one gives back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue the good, both toward one another and toward all.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.THE KEY
Retaliation treats evil as a debt to return, while this verse makes good the thing worth pursuing.
THE MEANING
When harm reaches the reader, the verse names the retaliation it can trigger and denies it the right to dictate the next response. Good is pursued continually, among those close and across the whole human circle. Nobody is excluded from where that good is directed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that harm creates a debt that can only be collected by returning harm. This verse dissolves that equation: another person’s evil does not make evil the good you owe them.
THE ROOT
ἀποδῷ
apodō
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι
didōmi
To give, grant, or place.
“gives back” in this verse is apodō. The Greek frames retaliation as giving evil back in exchange for evil, a return transaction. The verse interrupts that exchange and turns the outward movement toward good.
ALSO GROWS
didōmi: To give or grant.
δίδωμι
The compound verb for “render” carries this basic sense of giving into the idea of giving something back.
antapodidōmi: To repay or return in kind.
ἀνταποδίδωμι
This related word makes the repayment pattern explicit: one action is returned in answer to another.
διώκετε
diōkete
GROWS FROM
διώκω
diōkō
To pursue, chase, or press after.
“pursue” in this verse is diōkete. The verb means more than passively approving what is good; it pictures good as something actively pursued. Its word family can also describe persecution, revealing the force of the pursuit the verse redirects toward good.
ALSO GROWS
diōgmos: Pursuit or persecution.
διωγμός
This branch shows how forcefully the shared root can describe chasing after someone.
diōktēs: A pursuer or persecutor.
διώκτης
The same root names the one who pursues, emphasizing that “follow” carries the energy of a chase.
THE PATTERN
Evil does not set the shape of the response; the response turns toward active good, even toward the one who caused harm.
If the one who hates you hungers, feed him bread; and if he thirsts, give him water to drink.Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who abuse you and persecute you.THE THREAD
Not giving back evil for evil, or insult for insult, but on the contrary, speaking good, knowing that you are called to this, so that you may inherit good speech.This verse repeats the same Greek verb for giving evil back, then pairs its refusal with blessing. The shared verb makes the interrupted exchange visible: harm is not sent back as harm.
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