Proverbs 2:14

Pro 2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, [and] delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

Ver. 14. Who rejoice to do evil.] It is their meat, drink, sport; {Pro 4:27; Pro 10:23} they cannot be merry unless the devil be their play fellow. This is reckoned as an aggravation of Jerusalem’s sin: "When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest." {Jer 11:15} But better is the sorrow of him that suffereth evil than the jollity of him that doth evil, saith Augustine. {a}

{a} Melior est tristitia iniqua patientis quam laetitia iniqua facientis.

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.

When they see any given to evil as they are.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

and that with pleasure, in ignorance of good and pursuit of evil.

frowardness--Not only their own perversity, but that of others is their delight. They love most the worst things.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(14) Delight in the frowardness of the wicked.—This positive taking pleasure in evil is mentioned by St. Paul (Rom_1:32) as the last stage of degradation.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. of the wicked] Or, of evil, R.V. text, as in Pro_2:12.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who rejoice to do evil,.... At the doing of it, or when they have done it; they are glad of an opportunity of doing mischief, and glory when they have done it; it is a sport and pastime to them, Pro 10:2; they take pleasure in the act of sin, and have no remorse of conscience afterwards; they speak of it in an exulting manner, and boast of it, and glory in their shame;

and delight in the frowardness of the wicked: of the wicked man, as Aben Ezra and Gersom supply it; in the perversities and contradictions of every wicked man; they not only take pleasure in their own sins, but in the sins of others, and in them that commit them; which is an aggravation of their wickedness, Rom 1:32; they delight to hear a man speak froward and perverse things; things against God, and Christ, and religion, against all good men, and everything that is good; against the Gospel, the doctrines and ordinances of it; and they delight to see him do things perverse and contrary to the will of God. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "they exult in the worst things".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Evil. These signs prove whom we ought to shun. St. Augustine depicts his own conduct before his conversion in the darkest colours. (Calmet)

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).

Who rejoice to do evil; seeking and embracing occasions of sin with diligence and greediness, and pleasing themselves both in the practice and remembrance of sin; whereas upright men abhor and watch against all occasions of sin beforehand, and mourn bitterly for it afterwards.

Delight in the frowardness of the wicked; not only in their own sins, but in the sins of other wicked men, which shows a greater malignity of mind and love to sin. See Rom 1:32.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Who rejoice to do evil. Another element is here brought forward, and the description increases in intensity. The wicked not only rejoice to do evil themselves, but they exult when they hear of evil in others. (cf. Rom_1:32) Such may be the interpretation, though the latter part, of the verse is capable of a different and more general rendering as signifying exultation in evil generally, whether it appears in themselves or others. The expression rendered in the Authorized Version, in the frowardness of the wicked, is in the original (r twOkpujtB, b"thah"pucoth ra), in the perverseness of evil, or in evil perverseness, where the combination of the two nouns serves to give force to the main idea, which is that of perverseness. This rendering is adopted in the LXX, epi diastrofh kakh , "in evil distortion;" in the Vulgate, in pessimis rebus; in the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic, in conversatione mala, "in a bad course of conduct;" and in the Targum, in malitiae perversione, "in the perversion of wickedness." It is not perverseness in its simple and common form that these men exult in. but in its worst and most vicious form. (for a similar construction, see Pro_6:24 Pro_15:26; and Pro_28:5) How widely different is the conduct of charity, which "rejoiceth not in iniquity"! (1Co_13:6)

Rejoicing to do evil.

We often insist upon the fact that goodness is the secret of true happiness, and invite men to rejoice in the service of God; but we are here reminded of an opposite kind of joy which some find in the course of wickedness.

I THIS IS A POSSIBLE EXPERIENCE. It is so unnatural that one who knew nothing of the world might well declare it to be impossible. But experience proves its existence, and the explanation of it is not far to seek.

1. Naturally desirable ends lend a sense of pleasure to the evil means by which they are sought. The miser loves his money on its own account through previous associations with the ideas of what it might purchase. So the criminal may come to delight in his crimes because the profit he gets out of them has cast a glamour over the ugly deeds themselves.

2. Some pleasures are sinful. Then the whole course, end as well as means, is wicked; yet, as it concerns self-indulgence, a wicked glee accompanies it.

3. There is a sense of freedom in sin. There is more room to range at large over the broad way than in the narrow path of righteousness. The sinner has burst the shackles of law, and he revels in the licence of self-will.

4. Sin gives an opportunity for the exercise of power. Much evil is done simply for the sake of effect, in order that the doer of it may find himself producing results. But it is easier to do harm than to do good. Therefore a man turns to evil for the larger realization of his power. So wicked children delight in picking flies to pieces.

II THIS IS A SIGN OF ADVANCED WICKEDNESS.

1. At first it is painful to sin. The poor, weak soul gives way to temptation, but the very act of sinning is accompanied with a sense of uneasiness and humiliation.

2. A further stage is reached when sin is committed with indifference. This is indeed a state of moral degradation, for conscience is now practically dead, and the sinner is as willing to have his pleasure by lawless means as in an innocent manner.

3. The lowest depth is reached when there is a positive pleasure in doing wrong. Evil is then chosen on its own account, and not as the disagreeable or the indifferent means for reaching some ulterior end. When two courses are open, the bad one is deliberately selected as the more pleasant on its own account. A malignant joy lights up the countenance of the abandoned sinner at the mere prospect of some new villainy. This is Satanic wickedness. The abandoned sinner can now exclaim with Milton"s Satan"Evil, be thou my good!

III THIS IS A DELUSIVE JOY.

1. It is shallow. Though it may be excited into a diabolical ecstasy, it has no heart-satisfying qualities. Beneath it there is profound unrest, The peace which accompanies the joy of holiness, and which is the sweetest ingredient in the cup of the good man, is quite wanting here. There are shooting pangs, dark misgivings, and dread sinkings of heart in the midst of this monstrous delight.

2. It will not endure. The pleasures of sin do but endure for a season. The sweet morsels soon turn to dust and ashes. After the wild crete there follows deep depression or dread despair, or at best a sense of listless weariness. The appetite is soon exhausted. New and more piquant forms of wickedness must be invented to stimulate the jaded palate. At length the awful consequences must come, and anguish of soul follow the delights of sin when God"s judgment takes effect.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They rejoice

"They" refers to the same people as in Proverbs 2:12.

delight in the perversities of evil

This means basically the same thing as the first part of the sentence. AT: "delight in doing what they know is evil" (See: Parallelism)

They follow crooked paths

People who lie to others are spoken of as if they walk on crooked or twisted paths. AT: "They deceive other people" (See: Metaphor)

using deception they hide their tracks

People lying so that others will not find out what they did is spoken of as if they covered the tracks on a path so that no one could follow them. AT: "they lie so that no one will know what they have done" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

joy

evil

deceive

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.