What is "live by the sword, die by the sword"

prov. 1 One who uses violence can expect a violent response; it is better to try to use peaceful means wherever possible. 2 (context figuratively English) One can expect dire outcomes from any vice; (non-gloss definition: used to convey a sense that poetic justice is inevitable).

"Live by the sword, die by the sword" is a proverb in the form of a parallel phrase, which can be traced back to Aeschylus's Agamemnon, line 1558, "By the sword you did your work, and by the sword you die." Agamemnon was part of the Oresteia, trilogy of tragic dramas by the ancient Greek dramatist and was first performed in 458 BCE

The saying appears in the Latin Bible in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verse 52, an unnamed follower of Jesus draws his sword and cuts off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Jesus then says to him: Converte gladium tuum in locum suum. Omnes enim, qui acceperint gladium, gladio peribunt. ("Return your sword to its place, for all who will take up the sword, will die by the sword.")