The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
Parallel Translations
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The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
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The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
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The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are secure as a young lion.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Proverbs 28:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 28:7 Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways.
- Psalms 53:5 There they were in great fear, where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.
- Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you. Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.
- Psalms 27:1-2 Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
- Psalms 112:7 He will not be afraid of evil news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Yahweh.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you know, at Philippi, we grew bold in our God to tell you the Good News of God in much conflict.
- Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus.
- Daniel 6:10-11 When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before. Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.
- Acts 14:3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
- Jeremiah 20:4 For Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them captive to Babylon, and will kill them with the sword.
- Leviticus 26:36 “ ‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword. They will fall when no one pursues.
- Psalms 46:2-3 Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas; though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling.
- Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
- 2 Kings 7:6-7 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear the sound of chariots, and the sound of horses, even the noise of a great army; and they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us.” Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and will flee seven ways before them. You will be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.
- 2 Kings 7:15 They went after them to the Jordan; and behold, all the path was full of garments and equipment which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. The messengers returned, and told the king.
- Isaiah 7:2 David’s house was told, “Syria is allied with Ephraim.” His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.
- Exodus 11:8 All these servants of yours will come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, “Get out, with all the people who follow you;” and after that I will go out.’ ” He went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
- Leviticus 26:17 I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Because their own conscience accuseth them.
Because their own conscience accuseth them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth:…
Pro 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Ver. 1. The wicked fly when none pursueth.] None but their own consciences. Facti sunt a corde suo fugitivi, as Tertullian hath it. Such a fearful fugitive was bloody Cain, who cried out, when there were yet few or none to pursue him, "Every man that meets me shall kill me." {Gen 4:14} Such were those cursed Canaanites that were chased by God’s hornet sent among them - that is, by the blood hounds of their own consciences. {Jos 24:12} Such were those Syrians that, struck with a panic terror, fled for their lives, and left their rich camp for a booty to the Israelites. {2Ki 7:7} The shadow of the mountains seemed armed men to guilty Gaal. {Jdg 9:36} The Burgundians, expecting a battle, thought long thistles were lances. God sends a faintness into the hearts of the wicked, and the sound of a shaken leaf frightens them. In arithmetic, of nothing comes nothing, yet they fear where no fear is. As Cardinal Crescentius feared a fancied devil walking in his chamber like a great mastiff {a}, and couching under his table as he was writing letters to Rome against the Protestants. {b} As Richard III thought he saw in his sleep various images like terrible devils, pulling and hauling at him, after he had, Joab-like, slain two men more righteous than him, his two innocent nephews. {c} As Charles IX of France, after the cruel massacre, could neither sleep nor wake without music to divert his self-accusing thoughts, so hotly was he haunted and followed with the furies of his own conscience. {d} As the Spanish fleet, in 1588, Venit, vidit, fugit, as the Zealanders thereupon stamped their new coin. {e} The Hollanders also stamped new money with this invincible armada, as the Spaniards in their pride had styled it, having this motto Impius fugit, nemine sequente, {f} The wicked fly when no man pursueth. I pity the loss of their souls, saith a reverend man, {g} that serve themselves as the Jesuit in Lancashire, followed by one that found his glove with a desire to restore it him, but pursued inwardly with a guilty conscience, leaps over a hedge, plunges into a gravel pit behind it unseen and unthought of, wherein he was drowned.
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But the righteous is bold as a lion.] Conscientia pura semper secura, A good conscience hath sure confidence; and he that hath it sits, Noah-like, mediis tranquillus in undis, quiet in the greatest combustions, freed, if not from the common destruction, yet from the common distraction; for he knows whom he hath trusted, and is sure that neither life nor death, nor things present, nor things to come, can ever sunder him from God’s love in Christ. {Rom 8:38} He is bold as a lion, saith the text; yea, as a young lion, that is in his hot blood, and therefore fears no other creature; yea, when he is fiercely pursued he will never once alter his gait, though he die for it. No more will the righteous man his resolution against sin, such is his Christian courage. Daniel chose rather to be cast to the lions, than to bear a lion in his own bosom, to violate his conscience. The primitive Christians chose rather to be abandoned, ad leones quam ad lenones, they preferred affliction before sin. And this their persecutors counted not courage and magnanimity, but wilfulness and obstinace. {h} But they knew not the power of the Spirit, nor the private armour of proof that the righteous have about their hearts; that insuperable faith whereby some have "stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire," &c., {Heb 11:33-34} and whereby they do all daily encounter and conquer that roaring lion, the devil, "quenching his fiery darts," &c. {Eph 6:16}
{a} A large, powerful dog with a large head, drooping ears and pendulous lips, valuable as a watch dog.
{b} Acts and Mon.
{c} Polyd. Virgil.
{d} Thuan.
{e} Carlton’s Remembrancer.
{f} Speed., 1206.
{g} Mr Sam. Ward.
{h} Tertul. in Apolog.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The wicked flee when no man pursueth, because the…
The wicked flee when no man pursueth, because the conscience of their own guilt puts them into a continual expectation and dread of God’s judgments.
The righteous are bold; are courageous and resolute, having the witness of a good conscience, and the assurance of Divine favour and protection, and the supports and consolations of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain See here, 1. What continual frights those are subject…
See here, 1. What continual frights those are subject to that go on in wicked ways. Guilt in the conscience makes men a terror to themselves, so that they are ready to flee when none pursues; like one that absconds for debt, who thinks every one he meets a bailiff. Though they pretend to be easy, there are secret fears which haunt them wherever they go, so that they fear where no present or imminent danger is, Psa 53:5. Those that have made God their enemy, and know it, cannot but see the whole creation at war with them, and therefore can have no true enjoyment of themselves, no confidence, no courage, but a fearful looking for of judgment. Sin makes men cowards.
Degeneres animos timor arguit -
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Fear argues a degenerate soul.
- Virgil
Quos diri conscia facti mens habet attonitos -
The consciousness of atrocious crimes astonishes
and confounds.
- Juvenal
If they flee when none pursues, what will they do when they shall see God himself pursuing them with his armies? Job 20:24; Job 15:24. See Deu 28:25; Lev 26:36. 2. What a holy security and serenity of mind those enjoy who keep conscience void of offence and so keep themselves in the love of God: The righteous are bold as a lion, as a young lion; in the greatest dangers they have a God of almighty power to trust to. Therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed. Whatever difficulties they meet with in the way of their duty, they are not daunted by them. None of those things move me.
Hie murus aheneus esto, nil conscire sibi -
Be this thy brazen bulwark of defence,
Still to preserve thy conscious innocence.
- Hon.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The timidity of the wicked. Quick succession in the…
CHAPTER XXVIII
The timidity of the wicked. Quick succession in the government
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of a country is a punishment to the land. Of the poor who
oppress the poor. The upright poor man is preferable to the
wicked rich man. The unprofitable conduct of the usurer. The
prosperity of the righteous a cause of rejoicing. He is
blessed who fears always. A wicked ruler a curse. The murderer
generally execrated. The faithful man. The corrupt judge. The
foolishness of trusting in one's own heart. The charitable man.
When the wicked are elevated, it is a public evil.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIII
Verse 1. The wicked flee] Every wicked man, however bold he may appear, is full of dreary apprehensions relative to both worlds. But the righteous has true courage, being conscious of his own innocence, and the approbation of his God. The unpitious fleeith. - Old MS. Bible. This word is often used for impious, wicked, ungodly; hence it appears that our word pity anciently meant piety or godliness.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 28:1. The wicked flee when no man pursueth…
Pro 28:1. The wicked flee when no man pursueth — Because a consciousness of their guilt excites in them a continual expectation and dread of God’s judgments; but the righteous are bold as a lion — Are courageous and resolute, having the testimony of a good conscience, and assurance of the divine favour and protection, and the supports and consolations of the Holy Ghost.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain The wicked may appear bold in facing danger, so…
The wicked may appear bold in facing danger, so long as they drown reflection, and stupefy conscience. But when conscience is roused, guilt is the parent of fear. Adam knew no fear, till he became a guilty creature. Then, to the searching question — "Where art thou?" — he replied — "I was afraid, because I heard thy voice in the garden, and I hid myself." (Gen 3:9-10 .) But the wicked flee, not only when their enemies pursue,†1 but when no man pursueth.†2 Yet is not conscience an invisible pursuer, following close, the harbinger of the wrath of God? And there are times, when "the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them;"†3 when "the shadows upon the mountains" shall make their hearts melt away.†4 Cain was terrified with the apprehension of murder, when there was no man, save his own father, living on the earth. (Gen 4:13-14 .) Many a daring infidel has shewn himself a coward in a moment of sudden danger. In unwelcome thoughts of judgment to come, conscience has turned pale at the question — "Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1Pe 4:18 .)
But if guilt brings fear, the removal of guilt gives confidence.†5 The wicked flee; the righteous are bold as a lion. Fearless as the King of the forest,†6 they dare to do anything but offend their God. The fear of him has drowned every other fear. "Though an host should encamp against me" — saith the man of God — "mine heart shall not fear."†7 Moses "feared not the wrath of the king."†8 Caleb and Joshua stood firm against the current of rebellion.†9 Elijah dared Ahab’s anger to his face.†10 Nehemiah in a time of peril exclaimed — "Should such a man as I flee?"†11 The three confessors stood undaunted before the furious autocrat of Babylon.†12 The Apostles’ boldness astonished their enemies.†13 Paul before the Roman governor,†14 and even before Nero himself, "witnessed a good confession."†15 Athanasius before the Imperial Counsel of Heresy; Luther at the Diet of Worms, finely exemplified the lion-like boldness. Nor is this the character of individuals only. The faithful and constant Christian will be bold to walk contrary to the course of this world; outfacing the scorn of men; valiant for despised truth; glorying in a persecuted name. Fearless is he of men. "For if God be for him, who can be against him?"†16 Not less fearless is he of Satan. If he be a "roaring,"†17 he is a chained, lion. "Resist him," and — coward-like, "he will flee from you." (Jas 4:7 .) If there be a want of boldness, is there not a wound of conscience, neglect of prayer, or want of faith? The boldness itself is the sense of weakness, and divine "strength made perfect in it." (2Co 12:9 .) When God intends to do great things, he makes us feel, that "without him we can do nothing." (Joh 15:5 .) Thus pride receives its death-blow, and he receives all the glory to himself.†18
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Footnotes:
†1 Deu 28:25.
†2 Lev 26:17. Psa 53:5 .
†3 Lev 26:36. Job 15:21 .
†4 Jdg 9:36.
†5 Heb 10:22. 1Jn 3:21 .
†6 Compare Pro 30:30 . 2Sa 17:10 . ’This noble animal is the most perfect model of boldness and courage. He never flies from the hunters, nor is frightened by their onset. If their number forces him to yield, he retires slowly, step by step, frequently turning upon his pursuers. He has been known to attack a whole caravan, and when obliged to retire, he always retires fighting, and with his face to his enemy.’ — Paxton’s Illustration of Natural History of Scripture, pp. 295, 296. Pindar refers to the lion as the figure of courage, Isth. iv. Antistr.
†7 Psa 27:3; Psa 3:6 ; Psa 46:2 ; Psa 112:7 .
†8 Heb 11:27. Exo 10:28-29 .
†9 Num 14:6-10.
†10 1Ki 18:10, 1Ki 18:17-18 ; 1Ki 21:20 . 2Ki 1:15 .
†11 Neh 6:11.
†12 Dan 3:16.
†13 Act 4:13.
†14 Act 24:1-27. Act 26:1-32 . Rom 1:15-16 .
†15 2Ti 4:16-17 .
†16 Rom 8:31.
†17 1Pe 5:8 .
†18 Bishop Hall has finely worked out this contrast — ’The wicked is a very coward, and is afraid of everything; of God, because he is his enemy; of Satan, because he is his tormentor; of God’s creatures, because they, joining with their Maker, fight against him; of himself, because he bears about with him his own accuser and executioner. The godly man contrarily is afraid of nothing; not of God, because he knows him his best friend, and will not hurt him; not of Satan, because he cannot hurt him; not of afflictions, because he knows they come from a loving God, and end in his good; not of the creatures, since "the very stones in the field are in league with him;" not of himself, since his conscience is at peace.’ — Medit. and Vows, Cent. ii. lxxiv.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Pursueth. "A crime is its own punishment." (Seneca, ep.…
Pursueth. "A crime is its own punishment." (Seneca, ep. 93.) (Leviticus xxvi. 36.) --- Dread. Of any thing terrestrial, as long as the object of his love is not attacked, Romans viii. 35.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain c) Against unscrupulous, unlawful dealing (especially of the rich…
c) Against unscrupulous, unlawful dealing (especially of the rich with the poor)
Chap. 28
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1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
2 In the rebellion of a land its princes become many,
but through wise, prudent men one (the prince) continueth long.
3 A man who is poor and oppresseth the lowly
is (like) a rain flooding and (bringing) no food.
4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked,
but they that keep the law contend with them.
5 Evil men understand not judgment,
but they that seek Jehovah understand all.
6 Better (is) a poor man that walketh in his uprightness,
than he that walketh in crooked ways and is rich.
7 He that keepeth the law is a wise son,
but the companion of profligates causeth his father shame.
8 He that increaseth his wealth by interest and usury
gathereth it for one that pitieth the poor.
9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer is an abomination.
10 He that leadeth the righteous astray in an evil way,
in his own pit shall he fall;
but the upright shall inherit good.
11 The rich man thinketh himself wise,
but a poor man that hath understanding searcheth him out.
12 When righteous men exult there is great glory,
but when wicked men arise the people hide themselves.
13 He that hideth his sins shall not prosper,
but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy.
14 Happy is the man that feareth always;
but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into evil.
15 A roaring lion and a ravening bear
is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
16 O prince, poor in understanding and abounding in oppressions;
he that hateth unjust gain shall prolong his days!
17 A man laden with the blood of a soul
fleeth to the pit; let them not detain him!
18 He that walketh uprightly shall be delivered;
but he that walketh in crooked ways shall fall suddenly.
19 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread,
but he that followeth vanity shall have poverty enough.
20 A faithful man aboundeth in blessings;
but he that hasteth to be rich shall not go unpunished.
21 To have respect of persons is not good,
and (yet) for a piece of bread (many) a man will transgress.
22 He that hath an evil eye hasteth after riches,
and knoweth not that want shall come upon him.
23 He that reproveth a man shall afterward find favor
more than he that flattereth with his tongue.
24 He that robbeth his father and his mother,
and saith it is no wrong,
he is companion to one that destroyeth.
25 He that is of a covetous heart stirreth up strife,
but he that trusteth in Jehovah shall be richly rewarded.
26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool,
but he that walketh in -wisdom, shall be delivered.
27 He that giveth to the poor (suffereth) no want,
but he that covereth his eyes hath abundance of curses.
28 When wicked men rise men hide themselves,
but when they perish the righteous increase.
GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL
Pro_28:2. פשע might perhaps be more correctly read as an Infinitive; בִּפְשֹׁעַ—Comp. Hitzig on this passage. As the words of the original Hebrew now stand, we can supply a subject for יַאֲרִיךְ only the singular שִׂר (“the true prince”); in like manner the בְ in וּבְאָדָם must be taken in the sense of בִּהְיוֹת “when there is at hand;” the כֵּן however must be taken as an introduction to the concluding clause, like our “then” or “so.” In all this there is indeed the difficulty remaining that the participles מֵבִין and יֹדֵעַ stand side by side without a copula—an anomaly that is hardly removed by referring to Pro_22:4 (Bertheau) And yet the construction thus brought out is, in spite of the manifold anomalies which it involves, after all better than, e.g. that of Umbreit, who takes כֵּן as a substantive in the sense of “right” as dependent on יֹדֵעַ,—or than Hitzig’s violent emendation (יִדְעַךְ מָדוֹן instead of יֹדֵעַ כֵּן יַאֲרִיךְ), the meaning resulting from which “but through a man of understanding contention ceases,” does not agree very well with the context. [The E. V. takes כֵּן as a noun: “the state thereof,” etc. So H. and M. (the stability”). N. without this specific rendering reaches the same result by finding for the verb “shall prolong its days, or endure” the subject “it” (the state) suggested in clause a. S. follows Umbreit. Bött. (§ 935, β) regards the verb as furnishing an example of what he calls “concrete impersonals,” having a general subject “one,” a construction not uncommon, where reference is made to public offices or functions. This reaches Z’s. result by a different path.—A.]
Pro_28:17.—[The participle עָשֻׁק Bött. prefers an account of its peculiar vocalization to regard as a mutilated Pual part, deprived of its initial מְ, and would therefore point עֻשָּׁק; so Pro_25:11, etc. See § 994, 6, 10.—A.]
Pro_28:18.—נֶעְקַשׁ דְּרָכַיִם is equivalent to עִקֵּשׁ דְּרָכַיִם in Pro_28:6.
Pro_28:23.—אַחֲרַי a somewhat stronger form in its vowel elements than אַחֲרֵי, used here as אַחַר is elsewhere.
EXEGETICAL
1. Pro_28:1-5. Of the general contrast between the righteous and the ungodly (unscrupulous transgressors, men of violence).—The wicked flee when no man pursueth. “The wicked” (singular) is on the ground of its collective, or more exactly its distributive meaning, subject of a plural verb; compare similar constructions, κατὰ σύνεσιν. Job_8:19; Isa_16:4; and also below, Pro_28:4 of the present chapter; 1Ti_2:15 (γυνὴ—ἐὰν μείνωσιν), etc. [See Ewald Lehrb. § 309, a, and other grammars].—But the righteous are bold as a lion. יִבְטָח is to be explained as a relative clause and referred to the preceding “as a lion”—“which is confident, rests quietly” in the consciousness of its superior strength and the security which results from it, see the same figure in Gen_49:9. [This seems to be needlessly artificial; according to a common Hebrew construction the verb may be a distributive singular after a plural, “the righteous.” See e.g. Green, § 275, 6.—A.]
Pro_28:2. In the rebellion of a land its princes become many. For this use of “transgression” in the sense of “rebellion, revolt,” comp. the verb employed in this sense in 2Ki_1:1; also Exo_23:21, etc. The allusion is plainly to the uprising of many petty chiefs or tyrants, or many pretenders to the throne, or usurpers opposing each other, in lands which, through revolt from the lawfully reigning house, have fallen a prey to political anarchy, as e.g. the Kingdom of Israel, especially in the period after Jeroboam II.,—to which the author of the proverb now under consideration might very well have had special reference. [On account of the form of clause b we prefer, with Kamph., to understand the allusion to be to a rapid succession of half established kings, rather than to a number of competing claimants. Thomson, Land and Book, I., 498, cites an Arabic proverb: “May Allah multiply your sheikhs!” as embodying in its intense malediction a constant Oriental experience of fearful calamity. It is only incidentally illustrative of the proverb before us.—A.]—But through wise, prudent men he (the prince) continueth long. [See Critical notes.]
Pro_28:3. A man who is poor and oppresseth the poor. We are to think of some magistrate who is originally poor, an upstart, who seeks to enrich himself rapidly by oppression of his subjects. This man is in clause b very appropriately described as a “rain” that floods the sowed field or the fruitful district, and thus destroys the prosperous condition of the crops. [Here again, and more appropriately, Thomson (ubi supra) illustrates, both from natural and political experiences common in the East, the impressiveness of this proverb to an Oriental mind.—A.]
Pro_28:4. They that forsake the law praise the wicked, i.e. for his success; comp. Psa_49:12; Psa_49:19; Psa_73:3; Psa_73:10; Psa_73:12.—But they that keep the law (Pro_29:18) contend with him; lit., “with them;” comp. remarks above on Pro_28:1. For this verb, “to contend or dispute,” comp. Jer_50:24; Dan_11:10, etc.
Pro_28:5. Evil men (lit., “men of evil,” comp. remarks on Pro_6:23) do not understand judgment; their wickedness darkens their understanding likewise, which is especially the faculty for distinguishing between good and evil; comp. Pro_29:7. In contrast with them “they who seek God understand everything,” i. e. everything that relates to the investigation and determination of right; comp. Ecc_8:5.
2. Pro_28:6-12. Against wanton oppression of the poor by the rich.—With Pro_28:6 compare the quite similar proverb Pro_19:1.—Than he that walketh in crooked ways; lit., “than one who is crooked in the two ways,” or, “than one who is perverse in a double way” (the dual of the noun is used here as in Pro_28:18 [see Green, Gram. § 203, 3]), i.e. one who unskilfully and way wardly passes from one way to another, one who, with divided heart, stands midway between the right path and the bypath of immorality; comp. Sir_2:12; Jam_1:6.
Pro_28:7. With clause a compare Pro_10:1; Pro_29:3.—But the companion of profligates. For the verb רעה, to cherish, to cultivate intercourse with some one, comp. Pro_13:20. For the term “profligate or waster,” comp. Pro_23:21.
Pro_28:8. He that increaseth his wealth by interest and usury. The “interest” and “usury” are so distinguished according to Lev_25:36-37, that the former denotes the annual revenue of a sum of money loaned out, the latter an exaction in other things, especially in natural products. The former is then fœnus pecuniarium, the latter fœnus naturale sive reale. [Here again Orientals, ancient and modern, have a peculiarly deep and painful experience of the enormities of usury.—A.]—He gathereth it for one that pitieth the poor, i.e. for an heir who will at length show himself more liberal and compassionate toward the poor; comp. Pro_13:22, and also Job_27:16-17. Mercerus, Ewald, Bertheau, Elster take the לְחוֹנֵן as an Infinitive of the intensive form: “ad largiendum pauperibus,” for bestowal upon the poor, to show himself merciful to the poor. But such an involuntary giving is a harsh idea, difficult to realize; and the meaning, “to bestow, largiri,” חנן has elsewhere only in the Kal conj., the participle of which corresponds best with the general context before us.
Pro_28:9. Comp. Pro_15:8; and with clause a in particular Isa_13:15.
Pro_28:10. He that leadeth the righteous astray in an evil way. The “evil way” is unquestionably a way of sin and ungodliness, whether the רע be taken as a neuter substantive in the genitive (as in Pro_28:5; Pro_6:24), or, which is perhaps to be preferred here, as an adjective. With clause b compare Pro_26:27; with c, Pro_2:21. The “pit” in b is naturally the way of sin into which one betrays the upright, not as it is in itself, but in its ruinous issues to which he is finally brought. Comp. chap: Pro_11:6; Pro_11:8.
Pro_28:11. With a compare Pro_26:16.—But a poor man that hath understanding searcheth him out; i.e. he sees through him, and accordingly knows his weaknesses, and therefore outstrips him in the struggle for true prosperity in life.
Pro_28:12. When righteous men exult (triumph). עלץ, lit., “to rejoice,” here expresses the idea of the victory of the good cause over its opposers, in which victory “all the people” (according to Pro_29:2) sympathize with great exultation. Hitzig’s alteration is unnecessary (בַּעֲלֹץ into בֵּחָלֵץ, suggested by the διὰ βοήθειαν of the LXX): “when righteous men are delivered.”—But when wicked men rise, come up, attain to power. Compare, with respect to this as well as the people’s anxious “hiding themselves,” Pro_28:28.
3. Pro_28:13-18. Against the secret service of sin, hardening of the heart, tyranny, and thirst for blood.—With Pro_28:13 comp. Psa_32:1-5.
Pro_28:14. Happy is the man that feareth always, i.e. he who lives in a holy dread of transgressing the will of God by sins of any kind whatsoever; comp. 2Co_5:11; Php_2:12, etc. The antithesis to this man “who feareth always” is the “confident,” the carnally presumptuous, hardened in the service of sin; Pro_28:26 and also Pro_16:14.—With b comp. Psa_95:8; Pro_17:20.
Pro_28:15. A roaring lion and a ravening bear. שׁוֹקֵק the ancient translators (LXX: διψῶν; Vulg. esuriens, etc.), already give with a substantial correctness, when they interpret it of the raging hunger or the blood-thirstiness of the bear; comp. Isa_29:8; Psa_107:9. Not so well Bertheau and Elster (following Kimchi, Levi, Cocceius, etc., [Gesen., Fuerst, E. V., H., S., while Luther, De W., K., N., M., Röd., etc., agree with our author]): “a roaming, ranging bear,”—for which rendering neither Joe_2:9 nor Isa_23:4 can be adduced as decisive supports.
Pro_28:16. O prince poor in understanding (lit., in “discernments”) and abounding in oppression. This conception of the first clause as an animated appeal to a tyrant (Ewald, Bertheau, Elster, etc.), seems to correspond better with the second clause than Hitzig’s view, according to which clause a is a nominative absolute, not to be resumed by a suffix in b, or than Stier’s still more forced translation: “A prince who lacks understanding—so much more does he practice oppression,” etc. [Luther, E. V., De W., H., N., M. make the general relation of the clauses antithetic, each clause having its normal subject and predicate, although H., e.g., admits the want of precision in the antithesis. K. agrees with Hitzig’s abrupt sundering of the clauses; while S. makes the first a synecdochical clause, “as to a prince,” etc. Our author’s rendering if animated is certainly unusual.—A.]—He that hateth unjust gain shall prolong his days. For the generalizing plural שׂנְאֵי, which stands here quite as appropriately as e.g. Pro_3:18; Pro_27:16, the K’ri unnecessarily calls for the singular שׂנֵא. [So Bött., § 702, ε].
Pro_28:17. A man laden with the blood of a soul. For this participle, “burdened, loaded” (with the sense of guilt), comp. Isa_38:14. [The E. V. loses the passive form and force of the expression; so Luther and H.; while De W., K., N., S., M., W. agree with Z.—A.]—Fleeth to the pit, is restless and a fugitive (like Cain, Gen_4:14), even to the terrible destruction toward which he is hastening by God’s righteous decrees, and from which no human exertion is able to hold him back. Hence the warning exclamation at the end: “let no one detain him,” i.e. let no one attempt the impossible, after all to recover him who is irrecoverably lost!
Pro_28:18 forms an antithesis to the preceding verse, cast in a somewhat general form.—He that walketh uprightly (comp. Psa_15:2; Mic_2:7) shall be delivered, but he that walketh in crooked ways shall fall suddenly. Comp. “the perverse in a double way,” in Pro_28:6. The “suddenly, at once,” points to the fact that the one or the other of the two perverse ways which the ungodly alternately pursues, must bring him at last to ruin.
4. Pro_28:19-28. Various warnings and cautions, directed mainly against avarice and violence.—With Pro_28:19 comp. Pro_12:11.—.… is surfeited with poverty. A stronger and more direct antithesis to a than the “is void of understanding” in Pro_12:11 b.
Pro_28:20. A faithful man aboundeth in blessings. For the “man of fidelities,” comp. the similar expression in Pro_20:6; also 2Ki_12:16; 2Ki_22:7, etc.—But he that hasteth to be rich, naturally, in unfaithful, dishonorable ways. Comp. 2Ki_20:21; 2Ki_21:5; and for the concluding phrase, 2Ki_4:29.
Pro_28:21. With a compare the somewhat more complete expression, Pro_24:23.—And (yet) even for a piece of bread (many) a man will transgress. The morsel of bread (1Sa_2:36) probably stands here not as an example of a peculiarly insignificant bribe, but as the concrete designation of a trifle, a very slight value or advantage of any sort. Comp. A. Gellius, Noct. Att. I., 15, where Cato says in proverbial phrase of the tribune Cælius, “frusto panis conduci potest, vel ut taceat, vel ut loquatur” [with a crust of bread he can be hired either to keep silence or to speak].
Pro_28:22. He that hath a covetous eye hasteth after riches, lit., “with an evil eye,” and therefore the envious; comp. Pro_23:6. For the idea of hastening after riches comp. Pro_20:21.—And knoweth not that want shall come upon him.—Instead of חֶסֶר “want” (comp. Job_30:3 and a kindred term in Ecc_1:15) the LXX read חֶסֶד (so likewise the Edit. Bomberg., 1525, and the Plantin., 1566). If this reading were original, then we must undoubtedly render in accordance with Pro_14:34; Pro_25:10; by “shame, reproach.” Yet the Masoretic reading also gives a good sense, as a comparison of Pro_6:11; Pro_23:5, and other passages that refer to the vanity and perishableness of riches teaches.
Pro_28:23. He that reproveth a man findeth afterward more favor, etc.—“Later, afterward,” in the general sense, and not possibly with Aben Ezra, J. H. Michaelis, to be taken in the sense of “after me, i.e., according to my precepts.” With the flattering “smoothness of the tongue” in b compare Pro_29:5; Psa_5:10; Psa_140:4; Rom_3:13.
Pro_28:24. He that robbeth his father and his mother.—Comp. Pro_19:26; also Mal_1:8; Mar_7:11 sq.; and for the expression “companion of a destroyer” in clause c, chapter Pro_18:9.
Pro_28:25. The covetous kindleth strife.—רְחַב נֶפֶשׁ is certainly not the “proud” (Vulg., Luther, Ewald, Bertheau, Elster [Gesen., Fuerst, De W., E. V., N., S., M.], etc.), but the man of large cupidity (comp. Isa_5:14; Hab_2:5), the avaricious and insatiable, ά̓πληστος (LXX, Umbreit, Stier, Hitzig [K., H.]). By his covetous grasping and his overreaching others, he “kindles strife” (comp. Pro_15:18; Pro_29:22), instead of living like the man who patiently trusts in the Lord’s help in peaceful quietness and with the prosperous development of his possessions as they multiply under the Divine blessing. For the expression “shall be made fat,” i.e., shall be richly rewarded, compare Pro_11:25; Pro_13:4.
Pro_28:26. He that trusteth in his own heart—i.e., not “he who relies on his own immediate feelings” (Umbreit, Elster), but he who suffers himself to be guided solely by his own spirit (comp. Jer_30:21), by his own inconsiderate, defiant impulse to act, and therefore follows exclusively his own counsel (Pro_27:9). Comp. Hitzig and Stier on the passage.
Pro_28:27. He that giveth to the poor (suffereth) no want.—For the sentiment comp. Pro_11:24; for the elliptical construction (the omission of the pronoun “to him” with the “no want”), Pro_27:7 b.—He that covereth his eyes, i.e., turns them unsympathizingly away from such as need help, that he may not see their wretchedness; comp. Isa_1:15, as well as the similar expressions, Deu_31:17; 1Jn_3:17 (κλείειν τὰ σπλάγχνα).—Hath abundance of curses—of imprecations from the oppressed poor; the opposite, therefore, of Pro_28:20.
Pro_28:28. Comp. 12 b.—But when they perish the righteous increase;—i.e., the righteous who were before oppressed and chased away come out to view again on all sides and form once more a numerous and strong party. Comp. Pro_29:2; and also Pro_11:10; Pro_11:21.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
A peculiar “religious complexion” belongs not merely to the first half of the chapter, Pro_28:1-16 (as Hitzig asserts, who separates this portion from its older surroundings as a peculiar interpolation originating after the exile), but to the whole section, as is shown with reference to the second part, particularly by Pro_28:18; Pro_28:20; Pro_28:24-25. That which gives to the chapter its specifically religious character is, the repeated admonitions to hear and keep the Divine law (Pro_28:4; Pro_28:7; Pro_28:9), to seek Jehovah (Pro_28:5), to trust in Him, (Pro_28:25-26), to a walking in “faithfulness” (Pro_28:20), and in blamelessness or innocence (Pro_28:18), and therefore in a general consecration,—to fear of God’s sacred anger (Pro_28:14); and also in no less degree the warnings against wanton and flattering suppression of the consciousness of sin (Pro_28:13; Pro_28:24), against a hardening in the service of sin (Pro_28:14), and against the betrayal of others into sin (Pro_28:10). Undoubtedly it is the desire to exhibit as the “root of all evil” and as a main radical form of ungodliness and lawlessness in general, the vice which is most sharply censured and opposed, that of covetousness, or the mighty rapacity of the wicked,—and accordingly to warn against it in the most emphatic way,—that led the compiler to accumulate just in the passage before us so many thoughts with respect to the religious relation of men to God. For beside these admonitory and warning proverbs which refer directly to this relation, the substance of the chapter is made up almost exclusively of warnings against wicked violence on the part of rulers in their dealing with the lowly (Pro_28:1; Pro_28:3; Pro_28:12; Pro_28:15-16; Pro_28:28), of rich with the poor (Pro_28:6; Pro_28:8; Pro_28:11; Pro_28:24), and of the covetous and greedy of gain in their relation to the inoffensive and unsuspecting (Pro_28:19-22; Pro_28:25-26). A logically developed progress of thought, it is true, is wanting; the combination is mixed of many colors, in the style of the “strings of pearls” in the gnomic poetry of the East, in which it is rather external than internal contacts and analogies that determine the concatenation of the several proverbs or groups of proverbs.
HOMILETIC AND PRACTICAL
Homily on the entire chapter. Of avarice as the foulest stain on the conscience, or as the mother of all vices (1Ti_6:10).—Or, on walking in the fear of the Lord and a good conscience, and also on the chief dangers that threaten such a devout conscientious life.—Comp. Stöcker: On the second hinderance to the attainment of true wisdom: an evil, terrified, timorous conscience; its source and characteristics, as well as the remedies for it (in a similar style, Wohlfarth).
Pro_28:1 sq. Luther (marginal comment on Pro_28:1); One’s own conscience is more than a thousand witnesses.—Cramer: An evil conscience makes timid (Job_15:21); but faith and a good conscience make the heart joyous, so that it is not terrified before death and the devil (Psa_91:7).—[Arnot: No man pursueth; and yet a pursuer is on the track of the fugitive, otherwise he would not flee. When they escape from man, God is the pursuer of the guilty. By conscience chiefly God apprehends us—thereby chiefly we apprehend God].—Lange (on Pro_28:2): When subjects are oppressed and vexed, they are not to rebel or curse the authorities, but seek the causes of such judgments in themselves, turn and bring forth fruits meet for repentance.—Von Gerlach (on Pro_28:5): To the understanding of the law there belongs a disposition to fear God, otherwise the clearest knowledge of the letter is of no avail; while men that fear God attain a sure comprehension of all.—[Muffet: Albeit there is some light in the wicked man which is sufficient to make him inexcusable, yet he is always so blinded by natural ignorance and malice that both Christ and the law to him is a mystery.—Bridges: When knowledge stands in the stead of faith; when the man reasons instead of submitting to Divine teaching; knowledge abused becomes a positive hinderance to a correct understanding.]
Pro_28:6-12. Cramer (on Pro_28:6): As his riches do not help the rich man at all toward blessedness, so his poverty does not harm the poor in that direction.—(On Pro_28:8): God often rewards even here kindness shown to the poor, though it may show itself first to the children of the benefactors.—Würtemberg Bible (on Pro_28:9): He that would be heard by God in his prayer must first hear God in His word and subject himself to its direction.—[Bp. Hopkins: God stops His ears against their prayers who stop their ears against His law. And this is but equity with God.]—Von Gerlach: Even the best that man can do becomes a sin to him when he does it with a disposition of disobedience to the Divine word.—(On Pro_28:11): Trust in outward blessings easily brings with it false self-confidence, and it is very natural for the rich to wish to lay claim likewise to inward excellencies and advantages. The poor man standing by unconcerned and simple, nevertheless overlooks and searches him through, and by his very poverty has more of spiritual superiority.—Starke (on Pro_28:12): A large proportion of subjects conform to the conduct of their superiors. Blessed is the land whose rulers govern piously and praiseworthily!—[Trapp (on Pro_28:10): Heaven is kept for the upright, and they for heaven; how then should they miss of it?]
Pro_28:13-19. Melanchthon (on Pro_28:13): As in all conversion repentance must be the first thing, i.e., recognition of transgression and guilt, combined with a sore change of disposition,—so here confession of sin is demanded, and such a one as leads to sincere reformation of the feelings and conduct, like that of Paul, 1Co_15:9-10. For necessarily in confession of sin every evil purpose must be given up, because with persistence in these penitence is no true penitence.—Comp. the Absolution-sermon on Pro_28:13 by Welcker (Sonntagsfeier, 1839): Be not ashamed to confess, for he only who confesses will obtain mercy, and no competitor is crowned except he strive lawfully.—[Lawson: To endeavor to shelter ourselves under coverings that are not of God’s Spirit, is an additional provocation to the eyes of his glory.—Trapp: Sin is a deformity that must be uncovered, or God will never cover it; see it we must to confession, or see it we shall to our confusion. No man was ever kept out of heaven for his confessed badness; many are for their supposed goodness.—Arnot: Sin cast forth from the heart is harmless. It cannot then pollute the life; and it will not then remain an element of treasured wrath.—Bates (on Pro_28:14): Blessed is the man who considers that God’s eyes are always upon him in order to judgment, and whose eyes are always upon God in order to acceptance.—J. Howe: It is a very hopeful character upon you when you are really afraid lest a controversy should still depend, and not be taken up between God and you.—J. Edwards: A saint is apt to be sensible of his spiritual dangers, jealous of himself, full of fear when he cannot see his way plain before him, afraid to be left alone, and to be at a distance from God.]—Starke: Searing and hardening the heart is a heavy judgment. If thou wouldst not fall into it, then hear betimes the grace that knocks at thy door.—(On Pro_28:18): There is only one way to eternal life; he that turns from that to the right or to the left, and would make himself sidepaths, will fall into ruin.—Von Gerlach (on Pro_28:19): As a reward for his vain striving the simple receives only vanity.—[Lawson (on Pro_28:17): The murderer of his neighbor is his own murderer.]
Pro_28:20 sq. [Lord Bacon (on Pro_28:21): In a judge facility of disposition is more pernicious than bribery; for it is not every one that offers a bribe, but there is scarcely a case wherein something may not be found to bias the mind of the judge, if he be a respecter of persons.]—Cramer (on Pro_28:20-22): Striving after riches has become to many a one a cause of many sins; and these are the very tares which (according to Luk_8:14) choke the word of God.—Tübingen Bible (on Pro_28:23): Speak the truth always, even though thou see that it is bitter. The future will show that thou still farest better with this than do shameful flatterers.—(On Pro_28:24): To take any thing from parents the Spirit of God calls a theft, robbing the children of all prosperity and all blessing.—[Flavel (on Pro_28:23): There is no better way to secure our own interest in any man’s heart, than to fasten it in his conscience by our faithfulness, and by being willing to hazard it for God’s glory.—South (on Pro_28:26): Of, all the fallacies and scurvy cheats put upon men by their trusting others, there are none so shameful, and indeed pernicious, as the baffles which men sustain by trusting themselves.]—Geier (on Pro_28:26): In our own important affairs we should never rely upon ourselves alone, but ever hearken to others’ counsel. Does not even a physician in his sickness employ the counsel of other physicians?—Wohlfarth: Trust not in thine heart, but in the Lord.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. The wicked flee… righteous are bold — A…
1. The wicked flee… righteous are bold — A sense of their own mis-doings makes men timorous, but conscious rectitude, with faith in God as the righteous ruler of the universe, gives strong confidence and a sense of security. “Conscience does make cowards of us all.” — Shakspeare.
Lion — כפיר, (kephir,) a young lion, esteemed bolder or less discreet than an older one.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) The wicked flee when no man pursueth.—Comp. the…
XXVIII
(1) The wicked flee when no man pursueth.—Comp. the curse pronounced upon Israel for disobedience (Lev_26:17; Lev_26:36).
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The righteous are bold as a lion.—Comp. Lev_26:8; 1Sa_17:32, sqq.; Psa_91:1, sqq.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain This chapter is still part of the Hezekiah collection,…
This chapter is still part of the Hezekiah collection, and not a new series by another author. It may be regarded as describing the various destinies of the powerful and the weak, the sinner and the righteous.
The wicked flee when no man pursueth. The unreasoning terror of the sinner arises partly from his uneasy conscience, which will not permit him to transgress without warning of consequences, and partly from the judgment of God, according to the threats denounced in Lev_26:36, Lev_26:37. A terrible picture of this instinctive fear is drawn in Job_15:20, etc., RAPC Wis 17:9, etc. There are numerous proverbs about unreasonable timidity, such as being afraid of one"s own shadow (see Erasmus, "Adag.," s.v. "Timiditas"). As the Eastern puts it, "The leaf cracked, and your servant fled;" and "Among ten men nine are women" (Lane). On the cowardice of sinners St. Chrysostom says well, "Such is the nature of sin, that it betrays while no one finds fault; it condemns whilst no one accuses; it makes the sinner a timid being, one that trembles at a sound; even as righteousness has the contrary effect How doth the wicked flee when no man pursueth? He hath that within which drives him on, an accuser in his own conscience, and this he carries about everywhere; and just as it would be impossible to flee from himself, so neither can he escape the persecutor within, but wherever he goeth he is scourged, and hath an incurable wound" ("Hom. in Stat.," 8:3, Oxford transl.). But the righteous are hold as a lion. They are undismayed in the presence of danger, because their conscience is at rest, they know that God is on their side, and, whatever happens, they are safe in the everlasting arms (see Psalm 91). Thus David the shepherd boy quailed not before the giant, (1Sa_17:32, etc.) remembering the promise in Lev_26:7, Lev_26:8. The heathen poet Horace could say of the upright man ("Carm.," 3:3, 7)"Si fractus illabatur orbis, Impavidum ferient ruinae.
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"Whoso feareth the Lord shall not fear nor be afraid; for he is his Hope" (Ecclus. 31 (34):14, etc.). St. Gregory ("Moral.," 31:55, "The lion is not afraid in the onset of beasts, because he knows well that he is stronger than them all. Whence the fearlessness of a righteous man is rightly compared to a lion, because, when he beholds any rising against him, he returns to the confidence of his mind, and knows that he overcomes all his adversaries because he loves him alone whom he cannot in any way lose against his will. For whoever seeks after outward things, which are taken from him even against his will, subjects himself of his own accord to outward fear. But unbroken virtue is the contempt of earthly desire, because the mind is both placed on high when it is raised above the meanest objects by the judgment of its hopes, and is the less affected by all adversities, the more safely it is fortified by being placed on things above" (Oxford transl.).
The cowardice of guilt and the courage of righteousness.
I THE COWARDICE OF GUILT. "The wicked flee when no man pursueth.
1. This cowardice springs from a natural feeling of ill desert. "Conscience doth make cowards of us all." Apart from all authoritative revelation, when no prophet of God is charging a man with his sin, an awful voice within clamours against his guilt and shakes the very foundations of his confidence. Though he has never breathed a word of his misdeed in the ear of a fellow man, though all the world is deceived into believing him to be innocent, he cannot silence that dread inner voice. In many cases it utterly unnerves a man, though outwardly he dwells in perfect security.
2. This cowardice is nourished by a perception of Divine justice. A person who knows the revealed will of God, and his wrath against sin, must be prepared to expect judgments of condemnation on guilt. Though the avenging hand is stayed, it may fall at any moment. The miserable guilty man is like one in the condemned cell under sentence of death, who does not know the day or hour of execution, but who trembles at every footfall lest it should be that of the messenger who summons him to his doom.
3. This cowardice gives rise to needless alarms. The murderer starts at the fall of a leaf so utterly unstrung is he under the tremendous consciousness of guilt. Can any condition be more dreadful? Rather than endure this agony of apprehension, men, who were in no danger of being arrested, have confessed their crimes and given themselves up to justice. When we consider the relation of sin to God and to his judgments, it is foolish indeed to live in the cowardly shame of guilt. For there are peace and pardon for the penitent.
II THE COURAGE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
1. This courage is based on a clean conscience.
(1) The feeling of innocence. One can brave the lion and subdue its savage nature to her service because the panoply of her innocence is her perfect protection. The martyr can face the fury of the persecutor, strong in the consciousness of right and truth. It is painful to be wrongly accused, but a sensible man should learn to bear calumny when he knows that he is not guilty in the sight of God.
(2) The new experience of regeneration. One who has been redeemed by Christ and renewed by the Holy Spirit need not live in the perpetual fear of guilt and shame. He is forgiven and restored. He is like the prisoner who can walk boldly out of the jail with a royal pardon. Yet his confidence can never be the same as that of original innocence. It must always have a certain humility.
2. This courage is justified by experience. The true man does not find his boldness fail him. He is as safe as he feels himself. The first guarantee of success in any cause is a clear consciousness that we are in the right. In the end, right and truth must triumph. But if they meet with temporary defeat, their champion need fear no real evil. He now gives his life, as he has before given his strength, to the good cause. Whether be serves it by life or by death, he does nobly, and he need not fear that he will be deserted by God.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-5. Canons of moral truth.
I WICKEDNESS IS FEARFUL, GOODNESS IS COURAGEOUS. (ver. 1) A good conscience is better than a thousand witnesses; an evil conscience unmans. (Job_15:21) What passes by the name of courage is often the effect of fear of men; and that which is discountenanced as want of spirit may proceed from the profoundest reverence for God. We shall never find anything in the world more to be feared than the warring presence within our own breast. True courage is the knowledge that we are for the time at one with God. The light of his countenance is life, dispersing the darkest cloud, and calming the most turbulent tempest. An evil conscience is "the worm that dies not.
II POLITICS AND MORALS. (Ver. 2) Rebellion arising from the collision of party and personal interests must be very injurious to the well being of a small state. Rebellion can only be justified when there is not only the greatest wrong existing, but also the clearest possible prospect of success. If peoples in time of distress, instead of cursing and rising against their rulers, would patiently search into the causes of their grievances, a shorter way would often be found to redress. A certain unity of feeling is essential to the well being of a state. "When any of the four pillars of government are mainly shaken or weakened (which are religion, justice, counsel, and treasure), men had need to pray for fair weather" (Bacon).
III THE ODIUM OF PETTY TYRANNY. (Ver. 3) There is nothing more detestable than the oppressive rule of an upstart. A base mind becomes more corrupt from hasty elevation, a narrow heart more cruel, as in the case of Robespierre and other historical examples. As with learning, so with power; the smatterers are the most ostentatious of their knowledge; those "dressed in a little brief authority" love to "Play such fantastic tricks before high heaven, As make the angels weep.
The Divine rule is strong in gentleness.
IV THE SECRET OF MORAL SYMPATHY AND ANTIPATHY. (Ver. 4) Those that secretly love sin have pleasure in them that do it. "The world loveth its own." It is fearful to sin; more fearful to delight in it; yet more to defend it (Bishop Hall). The pure heart has no "fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." We reveal or betray ourselves by our sympathies. The homely proverb says, "Like lips, like lettuce." And the important lesson arises here that we should dwell on the best and brightest examples, for the sake of their effect on our character; the eye becomes sunny as it gazes at the sun.
V THE EFFECT OF VICE ON THE INTELLIGENCE. (Ver. 5) It is a most important principle that insight into intellectual relations of truth is affected by the mood of the heart. The clearest knowledge of the letter is here of no avail. "If any man shall do God"s will, he shall know of the doctrine." The pure conscience conditions the bright intelligence. The understanding is darkened "because of the blindness of men"s heart;" and these call darkness light, and light darkness. Many things dark to reason are simplified to knowledge. The Divine mysteries are mysteries of love, and through love only may be known. J.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1, 13, 25 (latter part). The source of disturbance and the secret of security.
We hardly need the pen of the wise man to assure us that
I SIN MEANS DISTURBANCE TO OUR SOUL.
1. It is bad enough to be unfortunate; to suffer from privation or loss.
2. It is far worse to be guilty. We soon accommodate ourselves to our misfortunes; we readily adjust ourselves to our circumstances, even though these may be very narrow. But sin strikes deep, and its wound lasts long. Among other painful consequences it fills the soul with a tormenting fear.
(1) It dreads the pursuing penalty of Gods ordaining. And it has reason to do so, for "evil pursueth sinners" (see homily on Pro_13:21). In accordance with Divine Law, suffering, sorrow, shame, death, are following in the track of iniquity, and, except there be merciful interposition, will lay their hand upon it.
(2) It dreads the pursuing penalty of man. More often than not sin is pursued by man, either by public taw or by private resentment; and he who has wronged his neighbour, either by fraud or force, has reason to expect arrest and punishment. It is well that it should be so. We have come lately to understand that it is our wisdom to abandon the heavy sentence which was seldom inflicted for the lighter one which is far more freely dispensed. The great thing in administering justice is to connect penalty with sin as closely as possible in the mind of those who are tempted to violate the law.
(3) It dreads penalty when there is no punishment at all. "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." The murderer cannot, dare not, stay in the presence of the body he has slain. The thief turns aside from the officer who has no intention of apprehending him. He who has inflicted the greatest wrong that one man can do another shrinks from his neighbour"s eye long before his sin has been suspected. Sin fills the soul with a harassing, a tormenting, fear. The guilty heart imagines a hundred dangers before the hand of judgment is outstretched to seize, or even its pursuing feet are on the path of apprehension. We reckon badly indeed if we only count the actual and palpable inflictions of justice which evil pays; in that penalty must be included all the anxieties, the alarms, the quakings and shiverings of the soul, the abject and haunting terrors which agitate the soul before the chains are on the wrist or the prisoner is at the bar.
3. There are two alternatives open to guilt: (Ver. 13)
(1) It may try concealment; but this is a mistaken as well as a wrong course. It will "not prosper;" the time of concealment will be one of constant disquietude, and it will end in exposure and humiliation, for again and again it is seen that there is "nothing hidden which is not revealed.
(2) It should adopt the course of confession and amendment; whoso does this "shall have mercy" of God, and will very likely indeed have mercy of man also. But even if not, the way of confession and of penalty is less hard and thorny than the path of sin and secrecy, of cowardice and terror. It is often true that while to bear punishment is tolerable, the miserable effort to escape it is absolutely intolerable.
II RIGHTEOUSNESS MEANS SECURITY AND SERENITY. "The righteous are bold as a lion." To the upright there are two sources of rest and strength.
1. The consciousness of integrity. He that knows and feels his purity, his innocency, has a fearless heart, and shows a brave front to the enemy. He does not fear that the shafts of falsehood will pierce his strong armour of truth and equity.
2. The favour of God. (Ver. 25) He "puts his trust in the Lord;" he commits his cause to the Righteous One; he is assured that God is on his side, and he "does not fear what man can do unto him." "The Lord is his salvation; whom should he fear?". C. (see Psa_27:1-3 Psa_84:11, Psa_84:12)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the…
Pro_28:1
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
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Christian boldness
In all ages courage has been regarded as a mark of honour and magnanimity, and cowardice has been considered a proof of pusillanimity and baseness. There is something base in cowardice. There is something noble in courage. A name descriptive of a virtue ought never to be applied to what is equivocal or culpable. Yet such is the native dignity of courage, such the value it ever commands, that in its most suspicious forms it possesses a charm which is almost irresistible. On the other hand, it is not for Christian men to judge of timidity as the world judges. There is much that the world accounts cowardly which we regard as noble and magnanimous. The real coward is the slave of his fear, and mankind are right in branding cowardice as vile and contemptible. The brave man is tranquil, firm, concentrated. He is the real master of what belongs to him, because he is master of himself. The text charges cowardice upon sin, and claims for holiness the honours of courage. There is nothing more wonderful in man than the moral faculty which we call conscience. But it may be injured and weakened. There is even the possibility that it may be destroyed. Among the instruments of torture with which conscience afflicts the soul of the sinner is fear. Sin is immediately followed by fear--by the fear of detection, of exposure, of punishment. Under a sense of sin the bravest man becomes a coward. Sin is more especially followed by a fear at the Divine displeasure. Sin is a thing of darkness. It shuns the light. When a man has sinned, his chief care is, that his sin should not be known to others. This becomes a supreme fear. Even when the sinner has no reason to fear man at all, he is not free from feelings of terror. Conscience allows them no peace. They are restless, unsettled, miserable. Changing the picture, the text presents the righteous as bold as a lion. The courage of the lion, though by no means a certain thing, has passed into a proverb, and the highest degree of intrepidity is implied by this comparison. We must not forget to make the distinction between physical and moral timidity. There is a timidity which is strictly a bodily infirmity. Where there is uprightness of conduct there is no place for fear. He who has done nothing to be ashamed of cannot dread detection and exposure. He who acts from principle, who does what he does in the fear of God, will not be afraid of the consequences of his actions, because he is well assured that all those consequences are in the hands of the great Disposer. In the discharge of duty the righteous are bold as a lion. Theirs is not presumption, for they are trusting on Him who is infinite. It is not desperation, for they can rely on innumerable promises. They present a bold front to the enemy; they feel their superiority. But before Him with whom they have to do, their Father in heaven, there is nought of self-confidence. Trusting in God, they cannot fail. They may bid farewell to doubt and insecurity. Their foundation is a rock; their hope is sure and steadfast. (J. G. Dowling, M.A.)
Sources of courage
The two ingredients that go into the composition of a good soldier are courage and good conduct. Here cowardice and courage are resolved into their first principles. All mankind are distinguished, by their proper characters, into two sorts--wicked and righteous. The wicked are of such base and timorous spirits that they are ready to run away from the least shadow of danger; being haunted with an ill-boding mind, they flee before the spectres of their own fancies. Every wicked man is not actually a coward, for that contradicts experience. There is a sort of valour which naturally springs out of the very temper of mens bodies, which is nothing else but a certain impetus, or brisk fermentation of the blood and spirits, and this is common to bad men as with good. By the term righteous the Scripture is wont to express all good men, because all instances of goodness are acts of righteousness, either to God, or to ourselves, or to our neighbours. Of this sort of men the proper character is bold as a lion. At least their righteousness tends to make them so. Illustrate this proposition: that wickedness naturally tends to dishearten and cowardize men, but righteousness and goodness to encourage and embolden them. The things which naturally contribute to make men courageous.
1. That they be free, and within their own command.
2. That they be well hardened to endure difficulties and inconveniences.
3. That they be well satisfied in the nature of their actions and undertakings.
4. That they have a hopeful prospect of being well seconded.
5. That they have a probable security of good success.
6. That they be borne up with the expectation of a glorious reward.
All these causes of courage are to be found in righteousness, and their direct contraries in a sinful and wicked course of life. (John Scott.)
Moral cowardice
This is a fact that may be accounted for on moral grounds. Conscience is the tormentor of the bad man.
1. Then the finest faculties of men may become terrible scourges.
2. Then no dependence is to be placed on the wicked in the time of danger.
3. Then the wicked are always making fools of themselves.
4. Then the wicked cannot bear the judgment of man; how can they endure the vengeance of God?
5. Then man may come to be regarded as the enemy of man. (J. Parker, D.D.)
The difference between the righteous and the wicked in respect of courage and confidence
Scarcely is there anything more consistent and regular in the course of natural productions than that fear and remorse are the offspring of guilt, and religious courage and undauntedness the attendants of integrity. The most striking instance may be found in the behaviour of our primitive parents.
I. Consider this case with respect to the wicked.
1. One reason why they are so liable to be alarmed and put into disorder is shame. Those who do evil wish to conceal their doings. Darkness is not only the principle from which evil deeds flow, but the proper region and retirement where they strive for ever to conceal them.
2. Another cause is fear. That fear gives wings to the transgressor is observed even to a proverb. They who sin can have no real peace or satisfaction of mind. Fear naturally arises from the apprehension of present or future ill. Some indeed there are who have so effectually dosed and qualified their consciences as to pass over a crime with as much indifference as they before committed it. But there is little tranquillity within, though outwardly they seem so airy and serene.
II. How the righteous man acquits himself. The upright man wants no refuge: as he is free from guile and deceit, so he is frank and open in his whole conversation. His integrity is dearer to him than the most pompous acquisitions, and the security of his soul than the gain of the universe. Through the perverse opposition of a censorious and malignant world, the most circumspect cannot always escape despiteful usage. But, confident in God, the good man maintains his ground, stands upon his defence, and is no more to be stormed by assault than perverted by interest. Innocence is the best armour he can put on. Since the difference appears so considerable and important, it cannot be a matter of doubt to any one that calls himself rational to which side his choice ought to be determined. (James Roe, M.A.)
Frights and securities
1. What continual frights those are subject to that go on in wicked ways! Guilt in the conscience makes men a terror to themselves, so that they are ready to flee when no man pursueth; like one that absconds for debt, who thinks every one he meets a bailiff. Though they pretend to be easy, there are secret fears which haunt them wherever they go, so that they fear where no present or imminent danger is. Those that have made God their enemy, and know it, cannot but see the whole creation at war with them, and therefore can have no true enjoyment of themselves, no confidence, no courage, but a fearful looking for of judgment. Sin makes men cowards.
2. What a holy security and serenity of mind those enjoy who keep conscience void of offence, and so keep themselves in the love of God. In the greatest dangers the righteous have a God of almighty power to trust to. Whatever difficulties they meet with in the way of their duty, they are not daunted by them. (Matthew Henry.)
Lion-like boldness of the righteous
The righteous are those who do right. Saxon of righteous is right wise. Before man had fallen the righteous were those who were conformed, in all respects, to the known will of God. Now, as fallen creatures, none can claim to be righteous, according to the strict requirements of the law. Some, however, may be spoken of, in a comparative sense, as righteous. The eleventh article says, We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith. A certain quality is ascribed to such persons: they are bold as a lion. This is a proverbial expression from ancient times.
I. Boldness is indispensable at the very beginning of the Christian course. Does it require no boldness to obey the gospel call? Let those answer who have gone through with the painful struggle which it costs before the mind can be brought to a decided stand.
II. Boldness is required in the discharge of the duties which must be met day by day. What bright examples of courage have been placed before us in the lives of the saints of God--Moses, Caleb and Joshua, David, Elijah, etc.; and in the history of the martyrs and confessors of the Church--e.g., Athanasius, Ridley, and Latimer. Those brave souls are now acting the same noble part who, in these days of blasphemy and rebuke, are not afraid to show favour to Gods children who may be under a cloud of reproach and trodden underfoot by the mighty. In more ordinary matters, the same boldness is indispensable.
III. the boldness of the righteous is manifested at the approach of death. There is something in human nature which instinctively shrinks back at the thought of dissolution. But when the righteous man actually draws near the border-line, the fear of death is gone. Then let us all cultivate the decision, the boldness, and the endurance, which our profession demands. (John N. Norton.)
Conscience
Pursuit and flight are in nature correlatives, and constitute an inseparable pair. A swift foot does not avail the man who is fleeing from himself. When they escape from man, God is the pursuer of the guilty. A reflector fixed in the human constitution points ever to its author, as the magnet points to its pole, whatever the windings of life may be. In effect, God is present in every human breast. Conscience within a man is one extremity of an electric wire whose other extremity is fastened to the judgment-seat. This apparatus brings the Judge and the criminal terribly near to each other. Conscience is in many respects the most wonderful element in the constitution of man. It is the point of closest contact and most intimate communion between us and the Father of our spirits. Thereby chiefly God apprehends us, thereby chiefly we apprehend God. Who shall settle the controversy between an unclean conscience and a just God? The question points, as John did, to the Lamb of God who taketh sin away. There is one Mediator between God and man. Terrors are sent as messages of mercy to arouse loiterers, and compel them to flee. It is better to be roughly awakened to safety than to perish asleep. (W. Arnot, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Pro_28:1. For the transgression, etc. Or, “In the rebellion.”…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_28:1. For the transgression, etc. Or, “In the rebellion.” “For this use of the word transgression in the sense of revolt, compare the verb employed in this sense in 2Ki_1:1; also Exo_23:21, etc.” (Zöckler). Zöckler translates the last clause, “through wise, prudent men, he (the prince) continueth long.” Delitzsch reads, “Through a man of wisdom, of knowledge, authority continues.”
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_28:1
COWARDICE AND COURAGE
I. This act of a wicked man reveals an unnatural condition. The sparrow flees to her nest when the hawk is on the wing, and the stag flees before the hunter or the hounds that are on his track. But neither bird nor beast is ever found fleeing in terror when it is not pursued. But bad men flee when they are not chased, and when there is nothing following them more substantial than their own shadow.
II. The cause of this unnatural action. There must be some influence at work somewhere which strikes this terror into the human spirit. There must be some hidden power which thus unnerves a man when he is out of the reach of any visible avenger, and causes him to tremble at the sound of his own footstep, or to see the reflection of the face of the man he has wronged in every human countenance that he meets. In the absence of all causes without we must look within, and there we find the pursuer. It is conscience that thus makes every wicked man a coward—that voice within him which thus bears witness to the existence of a Divine law which he has broken, and to a Divine Lawgiver to whom he must render an account whether he escape human justice or not.
III. The hopeless nature of the act. The man who flees when none are pursuing reveals that he is engaged in an attempt to flee from himself, and this is an endeavour that will ever be fruitless. A man may quit the scene of his crime and go into a country where all around him is entirely different, but he will be painfully conscious that he is himself the same being—that although he has changed everything outside himself he has preserved his identity. He can free his soul from his body and so flee from the world, but he cannot free himself from the consciousness of guilt and so break the tie that binds him and his sin together. For this flight from self is but another name for flight from God—from Him to whom alone the Psalmist’s words apply:—“Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there; if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall uphold me.” (Psa_139:7; Psa_139:10.)
IV. The entirely contrary attitude of a righteous man reveals an entirely opposite relation to conscience and to God. The natural position of any creature in relation to the Creator is the position which he held when he was originally created. Man was then on such good terms with himself and in such conscious favour with God that he had no sense of fear and no desire to flee from the Divine presence. It was not until the first sin had been committed that Adam and his wife hid themselves, and fled when no man pursued. But there are descendants of Adam who, although they cannot pretend to sinlessness, have no guilty fear of God, and consequently are not afraid of man. The original and natural relation between them and their Father in heaven has been re-established by their acceptance of His conditions of reconciliation, and being now on the side of righteousness they have no reason to flee even when many pursue them, much less when they are alone with themselves and God. They can sing with the Psalmist, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?… Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” (Psa_27:1; Psa_27:3.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Moses “feared not the wrath of the king.” Caleb and Joshua stood firm against the current of rebellion. Elijah dared Ahab’s anger to his face. Nehemiah, in a time of peril, exclaimed—“Should such a man as I flee?” The three confessors stood undaunted before the furious autocrat of Babylon. The Apostles’ boldness astonished their enemies. Paul before the Roman governor, and even before Nero himself, witnessed a good confession. Athanasius before the Imperial Council of Heresy; Luther at the Diet of Worms, finely exemplified this lion-like boldness.—Bridges.
The wicked is a very coward, and is afraid of everything; of God, because He is his enemy; of Satan, because he is his tormentor; of God’s creatures, because they, joining with their Maker, fight against him; of himself, because he bears about with him his own accuser and executioner. The godly man contrarily is afraid of nothing; not of God, because he knows Him his best friend, and will not hurt him; not of Satan, because he cannot hurt him; not of afflictions, because he knows they come from a loving God, and end in his good; not of the creatures, since “the very stones in the field are in league with Him;” not of himself, since his conscience is at peace.—Bp. Hall.
Conscience within a man is one extremity of an electric wire, whose other extremity is fastened to the judgment-seat.… A man may be saved from death by seeing the reflection of his danger in a mirror, when the danger itself could not be directly seen. The executioner, with his weapon, is stealthily approaching through a corridor of the castle to the spot where the devoted invalid reclines. In his musings the captive has turned his vacant eye towards a mirror on the wall, and the faithful witness reveals the impending stroke in time to secure the escape of the victim. It is thus that the mirror in a man’s breast has become in a sense the man’s saviour, by revealing the wrath to come before its coming.—Arnot.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain (with 1Jn 4:18)
Pro 28:14
(with 1Jn 4:18)
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Fear has a place in the Gospel; may we but find it. Indeed, it is an old remark that every natural principle of our minds, every true inborn feeling in these hearts of ours—desire, affection, devotion, even anger, even indignation, hatred itself—has an object assigned to it—is not to be crushed and trampled out, only to be redirected—in that new and latest utterance of God to His creatures which is the Gospel of grace and salvation. So it is, certainly, with fear. The object of fear may be either a thing or a person.
I. We fear a thing which, being possible, is also undesirable or dreadful. We do not fear that which is impossible; we do not fear that which is pleasant or neutral. Our Prayer-book, commenting in the catechism upon the Lord’s Prayer, bids us call three things evil, not pain, not sickness, hot loss, not bereavement, not even natural death, but just these only: (1) sin and wickedness; (2) our ghostly enemy; (3) everlasting death. These three things then are the proper objects of Gospel fear.
II. The fear of God as a Person, even the dread of God as a Person, is essentially of a high order. To feel that there is One above me, a living Being, to whom I am accountable, if it be but as my Judge, to whom I am something, if it be but as a malefactor and a victim—there is something elevating in the very conception. But this, if it stop here, is the religion of nature, of fallen nature, of the thing made and corrupted crouching beneath the hand of its Maker. This mere dread, though it is a higher thing than indifference, is no part of the Gospel. From this kind of fear the convinced man, if he yields himself to Christ’s teaching, will pass on into a higher. Of all love, that is the most beautiful which is the gradual produce of the godliest fear. It springs not out of the forgetfulness, but out of the experience, of what I am and of what God is. It is no sentimental dream, no highly coloured fancy, no one-sided view of God’s revelation; it takes in all the truth, and is founded upon a rock.
C. J. Vaughan, Last Words at Doncaster, p. 19.
References: Pro 28:14-28.—R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. iii., p. 272. Pro 28:20-22.—H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvi., p. 227.
Pro 28:26
I. We may take these words of the Book of Proverbs as a warning to seek self-knowledge. And, as a first step to self-knowledge, they bid us beware of trusting our own heart, or we shall but see ourselves, in a high moral sense, to be "fools" at last. But it may be asked, Is not the heart God’s creation and God’s gift? Did He not plant eyes in it and give to it; light and discernment to guide our ways? Why must a man who trusts his own heart be a fool? (1) Because our hearts—that is, we ourselves—are ignorant of ourselves. If we knew ourselves, we should not trust ourselves; we do so because we do not know what we are. (2) Not only is the heart ignorant of itself, but it deceives itself. Ignorance is the danger of unawakened minds, self-deceit of the awakened. (3) Another reason why to trust our own hearts is a note of folly is because they flatter us. Self-flattery imposes upon us with the conceit of our own excellence.
II. If this be so, if we be our own deceivers, what securities shall we take against our own hearts? Out of many we can now take only two. (1) The greatest security against deceiving ourselves by trusting our own hearts is a careful information of conscience. A knowledge of sin in itself would interpret to us the true moral character of our own conduct and all its intricate parts of thought, word, and deed. Another benefit of this early information of conscience is that we should be preserved from the stunning and deadening insensibility which early sins bring upon us. No words too strong can be found to urge on parents and guides of children to begin the information of the conscience as early as the information of the reason. (2) The other security is the only one which remains to those who have never enjoyed the first, and that is to take the judgment of some other person instead of trusting in themselves. We advise others better than ourselves; so would they us again. How little do we lay to heart who he is that would fain stop our ears against all advisers. And the man who takes counsel of nobody is his easy prey.
H. E. Manning, Sermons, vol. iii., p. 92.
References: Pro 29:15.—New Manual of Sunday-school Addresses. p. 164. Pro 29:1.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iii., p. 359; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. x., p. 84; J. Keble, Sermons for Saints’ Days, p. 174. Pro 29:1-11.—R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. iii., p. 285. Pro 29:12-18.—Ibid., p. 297. Pro 29:15.—Outline Sermons to Children, p. 77.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Observations relating chiefly to Social Life
Observations relating chiefly to Social Life
2. Cp. the many changes of rulers during the unsatisfactory period described in 2K15.
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3. The addition of a single Hebrew letter gives 'wicked' instead of poor.
4. See the account of Phinehas (Numbers 25). But the law here means religious and moral teaching in general.
5. Cp. 1Jn_2:20.
8. Unjust gain] RV 'increase.' The OT. denounced usury and interest because it was assumed that the borrower was a person in distress (Exo_22:25; Deu_23:19; Psa_15:5). That is quite a different matter from the lending on interest, without which modern trade could not be carried on.
10. The evil way is the one which ends in calamity.
14. He fears to do wrong.
18. For at once, read, 'into a pit.'
21. RM 'For a piece of bread a man will transgress.' 'I was taken by a morsel, says the fish.'
22. Evil eye] avaricious.
27. Hideth his eyes] He 'passes by on the other side' (Luk_10:31-32).
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain CHAPTER 28 Warnings and Instructions Continued
CHAPTER 28 Warnings and Instructions Continued
The wicked is a coward; the righteous man, because he trusteth in the Lord and knows the Lord is on his side, is as bold as a lion. It is the conscience which makes a coward of the wicked man.
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This chapter has many sharp contrasts and important warnings and exhortations. We point out a few. Those who forsake the law, turn their backs upon the revelation of God, refuse obedience to Him, praise the wicked, they make common cause with them. Those who keep the law, obey God’s Word, are contenders for the faith Pro 28:4. Evil men are blind, but with seeking the Lord comes understanding, the blind eyes are opened Pro 28:5. A wise son is he who keepeth the law; such was Solomon till he plunged into apostasy and darkness Pro 28:7. Then in the ninth verse is another pithy saying. He “that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” It is the same truth as stated in Psa 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
An important message is contained in Pro 28:13. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Every attempt to cover up sin is a failure. How much of this is done today, not merely the covering of individual sins, but the denial of sin itself. The modern theology useth much ingenious argumentation which tries to make out of sin something else; speaks of it as a mere defect, as if it were some kind of a taint in the blood, a hereditary and therefore unavoidable weakness, something for which man is not responsible. All these inventions, which sweep aside the declarations of the infallible Word of God, are “covering up.” No mercy can there be for those who deny sin and sins. The fig leaves must be torn away with which man still tries to cover his nakedness. There must be confession, repentance, self-judgment and then of course trust in Him who died for the ungodly.
The next proverb Pro 28:14 contains a beatitude. “Happy--or blessed--is the man that feareth always.” He who has found forgiveness is sheltered by the precious blood, walks in newness of life and in godly fear all the day long.
We mention Pro 28:25 and Pro 28:26: “Trust in the LORD brings blessing; and he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Consequences of Impiety
The Consequences of Impiety
v. 1. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, their bad conscience making them timid; but the righteous, filled with the consciousness of their uprightness and therefore possessing a good conscience, are bold as a lion, their courage being upheld by their trust in God.
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v. 2. For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof, that is, when the spirit of rebellion once takes hold of a country, there will be many men aspiring to be rulers, and many changes of policy in government are harmful; but by a man of understanding and knowledge, a ruler who makes use of the proper circumspection, foresight, and wisdom, the state thereof shall be prolonged, the rule of the one good prince will continue long.
v. 3. A poor man that oppresseth the poor, an upstart who has enriched himself at the expense of his subjects, is like a sweeping rain, a heavy, driving shower, which leaveth no food, the flood either drowning out or carrying away the growing crops.
v. 4. They that forsake the Law praise the wicked, who makes it a practice to ignore the Law in his own interest, his selfishness being supreme; but such as keep the Law contend with them, those who are on the side of law and order naturally are opposed to all lawbreaking.
v. 5. Evil men understand not judgment, for their wickedness confuses their ideas of morality; but they that seek the Lord, and thereby make His Word the standard of their life, understand all things, according to the rule of the Word they have no trouble in determining what is right.
v. 6. Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, in integrity of life, in agreement with God’s holy will, than he that is perverse in his ways, walking in crooked ways, in conduct either hypocritical or downright wicked, though he be rich, for the possession of riches will not condone wickedness. Cf Pro 19:1.
v. 7. Whoso keepeth the Law, observing carefully all instruction which he receives, is a wise son, Pro 10:1; Pro 29:3; but he that is a companion of riotous men, loving the company of profligates and wasters, shameth his father.
v. 8. He that by usury and unjust gain, by interest exacted from an impoverished neighbor and by exactions in natural products, by exercising a cold and grasping avarice, increaseth his substance, growing rich at the expense of the poor, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor, for by God’s government some other person, probably an heir, will get hold of it who will show greater compassion toward the poor.
v. 9. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the Law, deliberately ignoring the way prescribed by the Word of God and disobedient to His will, even his prayer shall be abomination, because his prayer cannot possibly be made in spirit and in truth.
v. 10. Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, seducing him to ungodly and sinful conduct, he shall fall himself Into his own pit, be ruined in the manner intended for others; but the upright shall have good things in possession, the Lord’s blessing resting upon their efforts.
v. 11. The rich man, who is also wicked and therefore foolish, is wise in his own conceit, in his own blind estimation of himself, 26:16; but the poor that hath understanding, who makes use of wise discrimination, searcheth him out, he knows and sees through the weaknesses of the foolish rich and despises his way of doing things.
v. 12. When righteous men do rejoice, exulting over the victory of the righteous cause, there is great glory, for they show their triumph openly; but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden; for when they are in power, they push all others aside and trample them under foot.
v. 13. He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, for to harden one’s heart and conceal one’s wickedness is of no avail before the omniscient and righteous God; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them, in open and true repentance, shall have mercy, for God is glad to accept in love him who is humbly penitent.
v. 14. Happy is the man that feareth alway, conducting himself with holy dread and awe, lest he in some manner transgress the will of the Lord; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief, for a deliberate serving of sin leads to destruction.
v. 15. As a roaring lion and a ranging bear, wild beasts full of ravenous cruelty, so is a wicked ruler over the poor people; for so a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant is fitly described.
v. 16. The prince that wanteth understanding, lacking proper discernment, is also a great oppressor, he abounds in oppression, not realizing that his attitude hurts his position; but he that hateth covetousness, the influential man avoiding all unjust gain, shall prolong his days; for so does the kindness of the Lord reward him.
v. 17. A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person, literally, "burdened with the blood of a soul," weighted down by the load of his guilt, shall flee to the pit, in an attempt to escape the terrors which possess him; let no man stay him, trying to recover him who is lost beyond all hope. Such a person has deliberately chosen his lot and has no one but himself to blame if destruction descends upon him.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Because of the transgression of a land
Because of the transgression of a land
The abstract noun "transgression" can be translated as a verb. AT: "Because of how a land transgresses" (See: Abstract Nouns)
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the transgression of a land
This is a metonym for the sins of the people living in a land. AT: "the transgression of the people of a land" (See: Metonymy)
with a man of understanding and knowledge
The implied information is that this man is a ruler or leader. The abstract nouns "understanding" and "knowledge" can be translated as verbs. AT: "with a man who understands and knows how to rule" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
evil
bold
lions
transgress
rule
know
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 28:1 The wicked experience God’s curse for breaking his…
28:1 The wicked experience God’s curse for breaking his covenant (see Lev 26:14-17, 36-37).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.