The dispensing or receiving of reward or punishment according to the just deserts of the individual or the group; that given or exacted in recompense, especially for evil.

Variants of, or words drawn from, the Hebrew root verbs sha·lamʹ and ga·malʹ are translated “reward,” “recompense,” “retribution,” “due treatment,” “repay,” “pay back,” and so forth. The Greek a·po·diʹdo·mi, an·ti·mi·sthiʹa, mi·stha·po·do·siʹa, and related words are similarly translated.

To the Nations That Oppressed Israel. In the song Moses gave to Israel on the Plains of Moab just before his death, he described Jehovah as one who ‘pays back vengeance’ to His adversaries and who ‘renders retribution’ to those that intensely hate Him. (De 32:35, 41; Heb 10:30) The vengeance and the retribution are executed by God in complete self-control, in full harmony with his justice and never without abundant cause. For example, he punished Israel for disobedience, sometimes using pagan nations such as Assyria and Babylon as his instruments. (De 28:15-68; 2Ki 17:7-23; 2Ch 21:14-20) But, on their part, these pagan nations acted out of hatred for Jehovah and his true worship, and they went too far in exulting over Israel’s defeat and in oppressing Israel. Consequently God uttered judgments of retribution upon them.​—Isa 10:12; 34:1, 2, 8; Jer 51:6, 56; Ob 8-16; Zec 1:15.

Babylon in particular suffered retribution for her age-old enmity against Jehovah and his people. Downfall and complete desolation were prophesied against her. She was overthrown by Cyrus the Persian in 539 B.C.E. but continued to exist as a city for centuries, finally falling into utter desolation, never to be rebuilt. (Jer chaps 50, 51) Symbolic Babylon the Great is to suffer like retribution, being thrown down “never [to] be found again.”​—Re 18:2, 6, 20, 21; see BABYLON THE GREAT.

Under the Law. God’s law to Israel given through Moses was one of exact retribution, although mercy was extended to the unwitting and repentant sinner. (Le 5:4-6, 17-19; 6:1-7; Nu 35:22-29) But the law of retribution applied fully to the deliberate and unrepentant violator. (Nu 15:30) In cases in which a man acted as a false witness, giving lying testimony against a fellowman before the judges, he was to receive retribution, the exact punishment that he would have caused the innocent man to receive. Jehovah said: “And your eye should not feel sorry: soul will be for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”​—De 19:16-21.

On the Jewish Nation in the First Century. The Jewish nation manifested a selfish viewpoint in accepting God’s undeserved kindnesses and favors to them. Jehovah allowed this selfish course and attitude to bring retribution upon them. They went about trying to establish their own righteousness instead of subjecting themselves to the righteousness of God. (Ro 10:1-3) As a result, the majority of the nation stumbled over Jesus Christ and rejected him, sharing bloodguilt in connection with his death, thereby bringing destruction to their city and temple and ruin to their nation. (Mt 27:25; Da 9:26) The apostle Paul quotes from the Psalms (69:22) and applies it to them when he writes: “Also, David says: ‘Let their table become for them a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a retribution.’”​—Ro 11:9.

On Disobedient Christians. The apostle Paul refers back to retributive justice under the Law in emphasizing the seriousness of Christians’ obeying the Son of God: “For if the word spoken through angels proved to be firm, and every transgression and disobedient act received a retribution [literally, paying back of reward] in harmony  with justice; how shall we escape if we have neglected a salvation of such greatness in that it began to be spoken through our Lord and was verified for us by those who heard him?” (Heb 2:2, 3, ftn; compare Heb 10:28-31.) The judgment of destruction upon the apostate “man of lawlessness” furnishes an example of such retribution.​—2Th 2:3, 9, 10; see MAN OF LAWLESSNESS.