Proverbs 24:12

Pro 24:12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider [it]? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth [not] he know [it]? and shall [not] he render to [every] man according to his works?

Ver. 12. If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, &c.] As no wool is so coarse but will take some colour; so there is no sin so foul but will admit some excuse. Ignorance is commonly pleaded, - We know not this man’s case, the justice of his cause, the means of his rescue, &c. But "be not deceived, God is not mocked." They that would mock him imposturum faciunt et patientur, defraud themselves, as the emperor said of him that sold glass for pearl. Deo obscura clarent, muta respondent, silentium confitetur. {a} God’s "eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men." {Psa 11:4} The former points out his knowledge, the latter his critical descant.

Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider?] No man needs a window in his breast - as the heathen Momus wished - for God to look in at; for every man before God is all window, {Job 34:22} and his "eyes are as a flaming fire," {Rev 1:14} that need no outward light, that see extra mittendo by sending out a ray, &c., that see through that transparent body, the world, called "a sea of glass." {Rev 4:6}

{a} Isidor.

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.

(12) If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not.—Man being too much inclined to answer after the manner of Cain (Gen_4:9), “Am I my brother’s keeper?” when he might give aid to those who need it.

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

12. knew it not] Lit. knew not this (thing, or man).

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.

My son, eat thou honey, because it is good,.... It is good for food; there was plenty of it in Palestine, and it was eaten for food, not only by children, but grown persons; and was very nourishing, strengthening, and refreshing to them, as Samson, Jonathan, John the Baptist, and others; and is good for medicine, is healthful and salutary, and useful in many diseases: it is said (m) to conduce much to prolong life and preserve from diseases; it has been observed that those who have much used it have lived to a great age;

and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste; because it is so, as all honey is, and especially that which is immediately squeezed or drops from the honeycomb; this is said not so much on account of honey, and the eating of that, as for what follows concerning the knowledge of wisdom, which is comparable to it for pleasure and profit; see Pro 16:24 (n).

(m) Athenaei Deipnosophist. l. 2. c. 7. p. 46, 47. so Pierius Valerian. apud Steeb. Coelum Sephirot Heb. c. 7. s. 5. p. 132. (n) Vid. Maimon. Moreh Nevochim, par. 1. c. 30. p. 37.

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

As Pro 24:11 warned men against acquiescing in an unrighteous tyranny, so this denounces the tendency to hush up a wrong with the false plea of ignorance. Compare Ecc 5:8. Pro 24:10-12 thus forms a complete and connected whole.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I have. Hebrew, "behold, we know not this man." (Pagnin) (Haydock) --- He is a stranger. But all mankind are brethren, and have a charge to assist one another, even though they be enemies, Ecclesiasticus xvii. 12., and Exodus xxiii. 4. (Calmet) --- Keeper. Hebrew notser, "preserver." As thou hast received many good things from God, shew mercy to thy neighbour.

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).

We knew it not; I was ignorant either of his innocency, or of his extreme danger, or of my power to relieve him.

Consider it; that this is only a frivolous excuse, and that the true reason of thy neglect was thy want of true love to thy brother, whose life thou wast by the law of God and of nature obliged to preserve, and thy sinful self-love, and a carnal fear of some mischief or trouble which might befall thee in the discharge of thy duty.

He that keepeth thy soul; God, who is the preserver of men, Job 7:20, who daily doth, and who only can, keep thee both in and from the greatest dangers. And this favour of God may be here mentioned, partly, as a strong obligation upon him to preserve him who is made after God’s image, and whom God hath commanded him to love and preserve; partly, as an encouragement to the performance of his duty herein from the consideration of God’s special care and watchfulness over those that do their duty; and partly, to intimate to them the danger of the neglect of this duty, whereby they will forfeit God’s protection over themselves, and expose themselves to manifold dangers and calamities. Or, as others render it, and as the Hebrew verb is frequently used, he that observeth thy soul, that seeth all the secret thoughts and inward motions of the heart; which exposition is favoured both by the following words, doth not he know it? which agrees better to God’s observing than to his preserving a man’s soul; and by the former clause, to which this translation doth more exactly answer, the same thing being here repeated in other words, after the manner of these sacred writers.

Shall not he render to every man according to his works? God will certainly deal with thee as thou hast dealt with him, either rewarding thy performance of this duty, or punishing thy neglect of it.

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

If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not. The disciple of Wisdom may excuse himself from making any effort for the prisoners" release, by saying he had not heard of the case. St. Jerome makes the excuse to be inability, vires non suppetunt. The LXX makes it a personal matter, ignoring the plural form of the previous paragraph. "I know him not, he is no friend of mine; why should I trouble myself about him?" Such a selfish person, like the priest and Levite in the parable, would "pass by on the other side." Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? God knows the truth knows that the excuse is vain; for he is the Weigher and Searcher of hearts. (Pro_16:2 Pro_21:2) Cain"s plea, "Am I my brother"s keeper?" is unavailable; the law of love is limited by no circumstances. He that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? The expression, "keeping the soul," may be equivalent to "preserving the life;" but it more probably means watching, observing, the inmost secrets of the nature. (Job_7:20) The verb used is rxn (natsar), which has both significations. The sense of "forming." which some give it, seems not allowable. (For "heart" (leb) and "soul" (nephesh), see note on Pro_2:10) Shall not he render to every man according to his works? Knowing the heart and the motive, God deals out retributive justice. (Pro_12:14 Psa_62:12 Rom_2:6) Septuagint, "But if thou say, I know not this man, know that the Lord knoweth the hearts of air; and he who formed (plasav ) breath for all, himself knoweth all things, who rendereth to every man according to his works."

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

Consider - That this is only a frivolous excuse.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

v. 12. if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, the one addressed trying to salve his conscience with a poor excuse, doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it? And He that keepeth thy soul, familiar with the innermost thoughts of the mind, doth not He know it? And shall not He render to every man according to his works? The last is a direct statement: He will requite man according to his deeds, His retributive justice cannot be avoided by a profession of ignorance. cf Proverbs 31:8. 9.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

will you say Heb. כי תאמר. And this instance of כי is used as an expression of “perhaps.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.