The concept of repaying persons in kind, according to their just deserts. The idea of retribution is pervasive in the Bible, and yet the term “retribution” as such occurs only once in the NRSVNT (Rom 11:9). The concept is often implicit, however, and may be expressed with synonymous terminology (“recompense,” “vengeance,” “wages,” “requital,” “reward”). The basic principle was established in the “law of retaliation” demanding “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” (Deut 19:21; Exod 21:23-25; Lev 24:19-20; Matt 5:38-42). The primary intent of that formula was to limit retribution, to guarantee that the punishment could not exceed the crime. Nevertheless, in (Matt 5:38-42), Jesus specifically opposes this principle by presenting an ethic of non-retaliation (Rom 12:17). In both OT and NT, however, God is portrayed as the distributor of ultimate retribution at the end of time (Dan 12:1-3; Matt 25:31-46).
