Proverbs 24:15

Pro 24:15 Lay not wait, O wicked [man], against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:

Ver. 15. Lay not wait, O wicked man, &c.] Eνθα γαρ οι Yεοι, as that heathen said - God dwells with the righteous; molest him not therefore, beat not up his quarters. The Scythians, saith he in Plutarch, {a} though they have no music or vines among them, yet they have gods. So, whatever the saints want, they want not God’s gracious presence with them. And if wicked men had but so much knowledge of God as Pilate’s wife had in a dream, they would take heed of having anything to do with these just men.

{a} Plut., Sυμπος. επτα σοφων.

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.

Pro 24:15-16. Lay not wait, &c., against the dwelling of the righteous — Against his person, or family, or possessions. Do him no injury, either by subtle and secret devices, or, as it follows, by manifest violence. For a just man falleth — Into calamities, of which he evidently speaks both in the foregoing verse, and in the opposite and following branch of this verse; and in this sense the same word, נפל, is used in the next verse, and in many other places. It is never applied to sin; but, when set in opposition to the word riseth up, implies affliction or calamity, as Mic 7:8; Amo 8:4; Jer 25:27; Psa 34:19-20. These words are commonly, not only in sermons, but in books, applied to the falling into sin; and, that men may the more securely indulge themselves in their sins, and yet think themselves good men, they have added something to them; for the words are commonly cited thus: A just man falleth seven times a day, which last words, a day: or, in a day, are not in any translation of the Bible, much less in the original, but only in some corrupt editions of the vulgar Latin, which, against the plain scope of the context, and the meaning of the words, seems to understand this place of falling into sin. See Bishop Patrick. But the plain meaning is that which is given above, and seven times is put for frequently. The righteous fall frequently into trouble. But the wicked shall fall into mischief — Into unavoidable and irrecoverable destruction, ofttimes in this life, and infallibly in the next.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Pro_24:16. The wicked shall fall. Delitzsch reads, “the wicked are overthrown when calamity falls on them, i.e., they do not rise again and again as the just man does.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_24:15-16

A SOCIAL AMBUSH

I. A common practice of the wicked man in relation to the good. When we think of an ambush of men lying in wait to spring upon their foes at a fitting opportunity, two hostile parties are at once brought before us, we feel that there must be deep enmity on one side at least, or men would not be at such pains to overthrow their fellow-men. And this is indeed the case in society as a whole. Men are divided into two great parties. On one side stand the lovers of righteousness, and on the other the lovers of sin; and the latter must ever be more or less actively opposed to the former. But their favourite and most common method of attack is that indicated in the text. Wrong-doers are naturally cowards, and in their endeavours to injure better men than themselves they shrink from open attack. They are fully conscious that they could not stand their ground in a fair fight in the open field, and so they try to fall upon their foe in a moment when he is off his guard and in a place where he least expects to meet them. In other words, evil men do not often openly assail either the character or the position of a good man, but by lying words spoken in his absence they try to blacken the first, and by secret schemes to overthrow the second.

II. An utterly useless attempt of the wicked man in relation to the good. It is useless to try to kill a tree by lopping off the branches. Such a process may for a time deprive it of its beauty and stop its growth, but while the root has its hold upon the soil and can draw nourishment to itself from unseen sources beneath the surface it will live, and as soon as the axe has ceased to strike it will begin again to clothe itself in greenness and beauty. So it is with a righteous man. His enemies may succeed in bringing about his temporary overthrow and in depriving his outward life of much comfort, but the springs of his existence are fed from an invisible and unfailing source, and his well-being is not dependent upon external circumstances. And so even if the malice of the wicked is permitted to strip him of some things which made his life more apparently prosperous and secure, there is an inner life which they cannot touch, and which enables him in due time to recover from the wounds which they inflict either upon his character or his circumstances. For “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shall condemn.” (Isa_54:17.)

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

Pro_24:15. Because it spites the wicked, that the godly dwell in safety, therefore they lay wait against their dwelling, by affliction and miseries seeking to throw it down, and … because the virtues of the godly condemn the vices of the wicked, therefore they lay wait and search into their dwelling houses to espy out their faults, because the goodness of the righteous shameth the naughtiness of the wicked, therefore they seek to break in even into their bedchambers and places of rest, and there to discover their errors and infirmities. Solomon forbidding them to do it, showeth it to be their manner to do it.—Jermin.

Pro_24:16. Perhaps you will say, had I fallen only once, I would not be much afraid; but I have often fallen before the enemy, and one day I must perish. But hear what God says:—The righteous man falls not once or twice, but many times, and still he rises. Your experience of former deliverances should encourage your hopes of new deliverances, for the salvations of the Lord are never exhausted. In six troubles He will deliver, and in seven there shall no evil touch you.—Lawson.

God’s saints are bound to “rejoice when they fall into divers temptations.” What though they fall into them? not go in step by step, but be precipitated, plunged over head and ears. Say they fall not into one, but into many crosses—as they seldom come single—yet “be exceeding glad” says the apostle, as the merchant is to see his ships come laden in.—Trapp.

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.

15 Lie not in wait, oh wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;

Assault not his resting-place.

16 For seven times doth the righteous fall and rise again,

But the wicked are overthrown when calamity falls on them.

The ארב [lying in wait] and שׁדּד [practising violence], against which the warning is here given, are not directed, as at Pro 1:11; Pro 19:26, immediately against the person, but against the dwelling-place and resting-place (רבץ, e.g., Jer 50:6, as also נוה, 3:33) of the righteous, who, on his part, does injustice and wrong to no one; the warning is against coveting his house, Exo 20:17, and driving him by cunning and violence out of it. Instead of רשׁע, Symmachus and Jerome have incorrectly read רשׁע daer, and from this misunderstanding have here introduced a sense without sense into Pro 24:15; many interpreters (Lwenstein, Ewald, Elster, and Zckler) translate with Luther appositionally: as a wicked man, i.e., "with mischievous intent," like one stealthily lurking for the opportunity of taking possession of the dwelling of another, as if this could be done with a good intent: רשׁע is the vocative (Syr., Targ., Venet.: ἀσεβές), and this address (cf. Psa 75:5.) sharpens the warning, for it names him who acts in this manner by the right name. The reason, 16a, sounds like an echo of Job 5:19. שׁבע signifies, as at Psa 119:164, seven times; cf. מאה, Pro 17:10. וקם (not וקם) is perf. consec., as וחי, e.g., Gen 3:22 : and he rises afterwards (notwithstanding), but the transgressors come to ruin; בּרעה, if a misfortune befall them (cf. Pro 14:32), they stumble and fall, and rise no more.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

24:15-16 Saying 27: Those who are godly will not allow a setback to keep them down. • Seven times is symbolic for “many times.”

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

This is spoken, not so much by way of counsel to wicked men (they will not receive instruction, Pro 23:9), but rather in defiance of them, for the encouragement of good people that are threatened by them. See here, 1. The designs of the wicked against the righteous, and the success they promise themselves in those designs. The plot is laid deeply: They lay wait against the dwelling of the righteous, thinking to charge some iniquity upon it, or compass dome design against it; they lie in wait at the door, to catch him when he stirs out, as David's persecutors, Ps. 59 title. The hope is raised high; they doubt not but to spoil his dwelling-place because he is weak and cannot support it, because his condition is low and distressed, and he is almost down already. All this is a fruit of the old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman. The blood-thirsty hate the upright. 2. The folly and frustration of these designs (1.) The righteous man, whose ruin was expected, recovers himself. He falls seven times into trouble, but, by the blessing of God upon his wisdom and integrity, he rises again, sees through his troubles and sees better times after them. The just man falls, sometimes falls seven times perhaps, into sin, sins of infirmity, through the surprise of temptation; but he rises again by repentance, finds mercy with God, and regains his peace. (2.) The wicked man, who expected to see his ruin and to help it forward, is undone. He falls into mischief; his sins and his troubles are his utter destruction.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The plots of the wicked against the good, though partially, shall not be fully successful (Psa 37:24); while the wicked, falling under penal evil, find no help.

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

Verse 15. The dwelling of the righteous] צדיק tsaddik, the man who is walking unblameably in all the testimonies of God; who is rendering to every man his due.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. O wicked man], Or, as a wicked man.

dwelling … resting place] or pasture … fold (R.V. marg.); making the picture pastoral.

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.

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again,.... This is to be understood of a truly just man; not of one that is only outwardly and seemingly so, or of temporary believers and nominal professors; but of such who are thoroughly convinced of their own unrighteousness, and believe in Christ for righteousness, and have it applied and imputed to them; as well as have principles of grace and righteousness implanted in them, and live righteously in this evil world; these often fall either into troubles or into sins, and indeed into both, and the one is the cause of the other; and both senses may be retained: the former seems more agreeable to the context, and runs thus, lay not wait to a just man's dwelling to do him any hurt; for though he should be ensnared, and stumble, and fall into distress and calamity, yet he will rise again out of it, and so all attempts upon him are vain and fruitless; many are the righteous man's afflictions he falls into, but the Lord delivers out of all; he delivers him in six troubles, and even in seven, Psa 34:19; or in many, one after another; he rises out of them all; he comes out of great tribulations, and at last safely enters the kingdom of heaven; and therefore it is to no purpose to lie in wait for him: and this sense is strengthened by the words following, "rejoice not when thine enemy falleth", Pro 24:17; but the latter sense of falling into sin has been anciently received, and not to be rejected; and which generally precedes and is the cause of falling into trouble. A just man, though he does not fall from his righteousness, which is an everlasting one, nor from the grace of God; yet he may fall into temptation, and by it he may fall into sin, as every just man does; "for there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not", Ecc 7:20; and that frequently, even every day; and therefore stands every day in need of fresh application of pardoning grace, for which he is directed to pray daily; and he may be left to fall foully into very gross sins, as David, Peter, and others; but not totally and finally, so as to perish; being on the heart of God, in the hands of Christ, on him the foundation, united to him, and kept by the power of God, he shall and does rise again sooner or later; not by his own power and strength, but by the strength of the Lord; he rises by renewed repentance, and under the fresh discoveries of pardoning grace and mercy to heal his backslidings;

but the wicked shall fall into mischief; or "evil" (q); into the evil of sin, and there lie and wallow in it, as the swine in the mire, and never rise out of it; and into the evil of punishment, into hell itself, from whence there will be no deliverance; and oftentimes they fall into mischief in this world, into trouble and distress, into poverty and want, in which they live and die, and never recover out of it; to which agrees what follows.

(q) "in malum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus, Gejerus, Michaelis, Schultens.

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

The teaching of the proverb warns men not to attack or plot against the righteous. They will lose their labor, “Though the just man fall (not into sin, but into calamities), yet he riseth up.” The point of the teaching is not the liability of good men to err, but God’s providential care over them (compare the margin reference). “Seven times” is a certain for an uncertain number (compare Job 5:19). In contrast with this is the fate of the evildoers, who fall utterly even in a single distress.

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

Lay not wait; do him no injury, either by subtle and secret devices, or, as it follows, by manifest violence.

Against the dwelling of the righteous; against his person, or family, or possession.

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

15, 16. Falleth seven times — The falling, here, is not into sin, but into calamity of any kind. Stuart, who, as a Calvinist, thinks the rising again from moral lapses is also true, yet remarks that the sense here does not point to moral lapses, but to misfortunes. The annotators are generally agreed on this point. The Hebrew verb here used for falling is never used of falling into sin. “Seven times” means an indefinite number — several or many. Compare Pro_4:19. The text is sometimes misquoted — “seven times a day” — and applied as an excuse by men who indulge themselves in sin and yet think themselves good, or wish to be thought so. The point of the teaching is, not the liability of even good men to err, but God’s providential care over them; as in Psa_34:19. So Speaker’s Commentary. Compare Job_5:19; Psa_34:19; Psa_37:24.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 15, 16. A warning against plotting for the ruin of a good man"s house, with a view doubtless of profiting by the disaster.

Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous. vr (rasha) is vocative; (comp. Eze_33:8) taken appositionally, as in Revised Version margin, "as a wicked man," it is senseless; for how could he lay wait in any other character? Spoil not his resting-place. "Spoil," as Pro_19:26 (where see note). Drive him not from his house by violence and chicanery. Vulgate, "Seek not impiety in the house of the righteous;" do not attempt to cloak your insidious designs by detecting some evil in the good man, and making yourself the instrument of retribution, as if you were doing God service in afflicting him Joh_16:2). Septuagint, "Bring not an ungodly man into the pasture (nomh ) of the righteous, neither be thou deceived by the feasting of the belly.

Vers. 15-18. Violence and shameful joy defeated.

I THE ATTITUDE OF THE MAN OF FRAUD AND VIOLENCE DEPICTED. (Ver. 15) He is like the prowling wild beast, seeking whom he may devour. God the Creator has not armed us with tooth or tusk or other means of defence, like the wild beasts which are formed for making war on others. We are strongly furnished for defence, not for attack. Ferocity is distinctly an unnatural vice in us.

II HIS ACTIVITY IS DEVASTATING. Here, again, he resembles the wild beast in his blind fury, the boar that uproots and overturns in the cultivated garden.

III THE SELF-RECOVERY OF THE RIGHTEOUS. (Ver. 16) To fall into sin and to fall into trouble are two different things. Avoid the former, and God will not forsake thee in the latter. Seven falls stand for many an indefinite number of falls. There is an elasticity in rectitude like that of the young sapling; bent to the earth, it rebounds with strong upspring. "It may calm the apprehension of calamity to see how quiet a bound nature has set to the utmost infliction of malice. We rapidly approach a brink over which no enemy can follow us." But evil, being purely negative, a zero, the absence of internal power and virtue, has but an illusory existence, and quickly passes sway.

IV BASE JOY TURNED INTO SHAME. (Vers. 17, 19) He who rejoices in the trouble of another, his own trouble stands behind the door. Why should he fear who takes his post with Omnipotence at his back? "Souls that of God"s own good life partake He loves as his own self: dear as his eye They are to him; he"ll never them forsake. When they shall die, then God himself shall die; They live they live in blest eternity.

The tyrant and his victim are made to change sides. The "wrath" which seems expressed in the calamities of the latter is transformed into the revelation of an "everlasting kindness," while terror strikes the heart of him who sought to infuse it into his foe (compare R. Browning"s striking poem, "Instans Tyrannus"). J.

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

Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: 16 For a just man falleth seven times,†a and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

The wise man breaks off his affectionate counsel to the children of God, with a solemn warning to the wicked man. Should we exclude him from the circle of instruction? If he be left unconverted, it is his own guilt. But if he be unwarned, uninstructed, beware lest "blood-guiltiness" be charged.

Hatred to the righteous is deeply rooted in the wicked man.†1 He imagines, especially if he be in power,†2 that he can tyrannize over them with impunity. But it is venturing upon a hazardous course — "He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye." (Zec 2:8 .) "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest!" — struck the most relentless persecutor "trembling"†3 to the earth. The plots against their dwelling, the spoiling of their resting-place, may prosper for a while;†4 but if the just man falleth seven times, overwhelmed with the assault, he riseth again (Psa 37:24 ), falling into trouble, not falling under it; yea, rather standing firm under it. Courage, then, — poor afflicted soul! Look thy foe in the face, and sing triumphant — "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy, though I fall I shall rise again. (Mic 7:8 .) He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea in seven shall no evil touch thee. Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver; in whom we trust, that he will yet deliver. Cast down, but not destroyed."†5 Here is our conflict, and our security. The life is untouched; yea — it is strengthened, and "made manifest," by the successive supplies of upholding mercy.†6 Many trials cannot overwhelm the righteous.†7 But one is sufficient to sweep away the wicked. He falleth into mischief;†8 and there is no rising again;†9 no recovery, no remedy. He lies where he falls, and he perishes where he lies. Sinner! whatever be thy wickedness; the LORD save thee from the millstone of condemnation — the persecuting of the saints of God!†10

Footnotes:

†a The common quotation of this is seven times a day; for which Bp. Patrick observes there is no authority but some corrupt edition of the Vulgate.

†1 Pro 29:27. Gen 3:15 . Psa 37:12, Psa 37:32 . 1Jn 3:12 .

†2 1Sa 19:11 . Act 12:1-3 .

†3 Act 9:5-6.

†4 Psalm 59. Title ({For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.}. Act 8:3-4 .

†5 Job 5:19. 2Co 1:10 ; 2Co 4:9 .

†6 2Co 4:11 .

†7 Psa 34:19; Psa 37:39-40 . 1Co 10:13 .

†8 Psa 7:13-16; Psa 9:16 .

†9 Job 15:30. Amo 8:14 .

†10 The just man rising from his fall is most unwarrantably applied to the perseverance of the saints. The word fall frequently occurs in this book; but always in reference to trouble, not sin. (Pro 11:5, Pro 11:14 ; Pro 13:17 ; Pro 17:20 ; Pro 26:27 ; Pro 28:10, Pro 28:14, Pro 28:18 .) The antithesis obviously fixes this meaning. ’There are plain texts enough to prove every scriptural doctrine. But pressing texts into any particular service, contrary to their plain meaning, not only serves to deceive the inconsiderate, but to rivet the prejudices, and confirm the suspicions, of opposers; just as bringing forward a few witnesses of suspicious character would cause all those, however deserving of credit, who should be examined in the same cause, to be suspected also, and create a prejudice against it in the minds of the court and of all present.’ — Scott.

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

v. 15. Lay not wait, O wicked man, with the intention of performing mischief and malice, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting-place, where he is leading a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty;

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

General Information:

These verses continue the "thirty sayings" (Proverbs 22:20).

Do not lie in wait

The words "lie in wait" are an idiom. Translate "lie in wait" as in Proverbs 1:11. AT: "Do not hide and wait for the right time" (See: Idiom)

his home

the home of the righteous person

rises again

"gets back on his feet" or "stands up again"

wicked people are brought down by calamity

The writer speaks as if "calamity" were a person who could do bad things to other people. These words can be translated in active form. AT: "God will use calamity to bring down the wicked people" (See: Personification and Active or Passive)

are brought down

This is a metaphor of a person who was standing but someone has brought him down to the ground or made him fall. (See: Metaphor)

calamity

times when bad things happen to people and their property

translationWords

evil

house

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