Proverbs 19:19

Posted by on November 27, 2017 · Leave a Comment 

A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
– Proverbs 19:19

The word for wrath literally means heat, so it stands for anger, or rage. The word for punishment means a penalty, or a fine. It has a legal connotation. The first phrase pictures a hot and quick tempered man who creates trouble for himself (Proverbs 29:22). Proverbs elsewhere warns against association with angry men (Proverbs 22:24-25). The point of this proverb is similar to such warnings. The second phrase has a condition and consequence. The word for deliver means to save and refers to somehow rescuing him from the penalty he has incurred. If you bail such a one out of trouble, you will have to do so repeatedly. In other words, the angry man will not learn the folly of his way and leave it. Wisdom discerns how to handle the situation and when to let someone suffer the consequences of his own actions.

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Proverbs 11:21

Posted by on March 13, 2017 · Leave a Comment 

Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
– Proverbs 11:21

The first phrase is uncertain and has been interpreted variously. Hand to hand could be an expression that denotes the surety of something to happen. The joining of hands could also refer to confederacy, in this case to do evil. The former seems the most probable in that the sureness of the wicked coming to punishment is emphasized. With this gloss, the surety of the statement also applies to the contrast that the seed of the righteous are surely to be delivered. So both statements are sure to come to pass. The Proverbs consistently presents the theme that the wicked will not ultimately prosper and the righteous shall be rewarded (Proverbs 28:13).

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