Meaning of Keeping No Record of Wrongs
The concept of "keeping no record of wrongs" relates to various biblical and interpretive traditions concerning how individuals and communities should respond to wrongdoing. While the specific phrase "keeping no record of wrongs" is often associated with New Testament teachings on love and forgiveness, related ideas appear in both Jewish and Christian thought concerning the handling of sin, injustice, and testimony.
In the Hebrew Bible, the idea of avoiding or ceasing from evil is prominent. For instance, Rashi interprets Jeremiah 22:3's command to "do no wrong" as specifically referring to "taunting with words" [3]. Similarly, on Isaiah 1:16, Rashi explains that "to do evil" (הָרֵעַ) implies stopping the act of evildoing itself [7]. The righteous are said to experience "no wrong" or no inadvertent sin [4]. The Babylonian Talmud discusses the prohibition of keeping items that could lead to transgression, citing Job 11:14, "And let not injustice dwell in your tents," to argue against retaining a Torah scroll with errors for more than thirty days [2]. This suggests a principle of actively removing potential sources of wrongdoing or error.
In Christian interpretation, the emphasis often falls on personal conduct and the avoidance of slander or reproach. Adam Clarke, commenting on Exodus 23:1, states that "Thou shalt not raise a false report" condemns both the inventor and receiver of slanderous reports, noting that if there were no publishers or receivers, such reports would not spread [8]. He also interprets Titus 3:2, "To speak evil of no man," as meaning "to blaspheme no person, to reproach none, to speak nothing to any man's injury" [9]. This aligns with the idea of living "without spot" and being "unrebukable" in one's conduct, as Clarke explains regarding 1 Timothy 6:14, where the commandment should be kept entire and one's life agreeable to it, free from any "blot" or "contrary" spirit [5]. The Apostle Peter similarly encourages believers to maintain a clear conscience so that those who speak evil of their Christian life may be shamed [1].
The broader theological implication across these traditions is a call to actively desist from evil, avoid perpetuating harm through words or actions, and maintain a blameless character. This involves not only refraining from wrongdoing but also, in some interpretations, not concealing or enabling it [6].
Sources
- I Peter “I Peter 3:16 (BBE) — Being conscious that you have done no wrong; so that those who say evil things about your good way of life as Christians may be put to shame.”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 19b.4: On a similar note it is stated, with regard to keeping items with potential to lead to transgression: With regard to a Torah scroll that is not proofread and therefore contains errors, Rabbi Ami says: It is permitted to keep it without emending the mistakes for up to thirty days, and from that time onward it is prohibited to keep it, as it is stated: “And let not injustice dwell in your tents” (Job 11:14).”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Jeremiah 22:3: do no wrong This means taunting with words.”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Proverbs 12:21: No wrong shall be caused for the righteous It will not happen. No sin will chance before him inadvertently.”
- 1 Timothy (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 1 Timothy 6:14: That thou keep this commandment without spot - Two things are mentioned here: 1. That the commandment itself - the whole doctrine of Christ, should be kept entire. 2. That his life should be agreeable to that doctrine. Keep it without spot - let there be no blot on the sacred book; add nothing to it; take nothing from it; change nothing in it. Deliver down to thy successors the truth as thou hast had it from God himself. Unrebukable - Let there be nothing in thy conduct or spirit contrary to this truth. Keep the truth, and the truth will keep thee. Until the appe”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Kabbalistic/Philosophical)) “Ramban (Nachmanides) on Deuteronomy 13:9: NEITHER SHALT THOU CONCEAL HIM — by not testifying against him in court. And in the Sifre it is written: 163 Sifre, R’eih 89. “ Neither shalt thou spare — you shall not plead in his favor. Neither shalt thou conceal — if you know anything unfavorable to him, you are not permitted to stand mute.” All [these interpretations] 172 I.e., whether we interpret Neither shalt thou conceal by “not testifying” against him, or “withhold” anything unfavorable to him — the purport is the same, since covering up of evidence is a form of silence. convey the same thoug”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Isaiah 1:16: to do evil Heb. הרע, like לְהָרֵעַ, to do evil. [Rashi explains this because the preposition is absent in Hebrew.] Scripture does not have to write מֵהָרֵעַ, desist from doing evil, for so does the Biblical language treat the expression of חֲדָלָה, stopping, [e.g.,] “and he failed to make (לַעֲשׂוֹת) the Pesach” (Num. 9:13); “until he stopped counting (לִסְפֹּר)” (Gen. 41:49). That is to say, the counting stopped, the making failed, here too, stop the evildoing.”
- Exodus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Exodus 23:1: Thou shalt not raise a false report - Acting contrary to this precept is a sin against the ninth commandment. And the inventor and receiver of false and slanderous reports, are almost equally criminal. The word seems to refer to either, and our translators have very properly retained both senses, putting raise in the text, and receive in the margin. The original לא תשא lo tissa has been translated, thou shalt not publish. Were there no publishers of slander and calumny, there would be no receivers; and were there none to receive them, there would be none to raise th”
- Titus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Titus 3:2: To speak evil of no man - Μηδενα βλασφημειν· To blaspheme no person, to reproach none, to speak nothing to any man's injury; but, on the contrary, bearing reproach and contumely with patience and meekness.”