Proverbs 24:16

Pro 24:16 For a just [man] falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Ver. 16. For a just man falleth seven times,] i.e., Often. Seven times a day, as the Vulgate and many of the Fathers read it, who also understand this text as falling into sin, and rising again by repentance. But the opposition carries it to the other sense, of falling into trouble. And the next verse speaks as much, "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth." God’s saints are bound to "rejoice when they fall into divers temptations." {Jas 1:2} 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 many crosses, - as they seldom come single, but like Job’s messengers, one at the heels of another, - yet be exceeding glad, saith the apostle; as a merchant is to see his ships come laden in. For, "though ye fall, ye shall arise; and though ye sit in darkness, the Lord shall give you light." {Mic 7:8}

But the wicked shall fall into mischief,] i.e., Into remediless misery. Non surget hic afflictio {Nah 1:9} As they shall have an evil, an only evil without mixture of mercy, {Eze 7:5} so they shall totally and finally be consumed at once. If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom Haman hath begun to fall, he shall fall to some purpose. {Est 6:13} A Jew may fall before a Persian, and get up and prevail; but if a Persian or other persecutor begin to fall before a Jew, he can neither stay nor rise. There is an invisible hand of omnipotence that strikes in for his own, and confounds their opposites.

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.

He is subject to many perils, but God delivereth him.

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

seven times--often, or many (Pro 6:16, Pro 6:31; Pro 9:1).

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 16. For a just man] צדיק tsaddik, the righteous, the same person mentioned above.

Falleth seven times] Gets very often into distresses through his resting place being spoiled by the wicked man, the robber, the spoiler of the desert, lying in wait for this purpose, Pr 24:15.

And riseth up again] Though God permit the hand of violence sometimes to spoil his tent, temptations to assail his mind, and afflictions to press down his body, he constantly emerges; and every time he passes through the furnace, he comes out brighter and more refined.

But the wicked shall fall into mischief.] And there they shall lie; having no strong arm to uphold them. Yet,

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

(16) For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again.—That is, falls into trouble (not sin, as is often supposed). Therefore thy malice will be of no avail, for God’s protection is about him. (Comp. Job_5:19; Psa_34:19; Psa_37:24.)

Seven times—i.e., frequently. (Comp. Mat_18:21.)

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

16. falleth] not into sin, for the Heb. word is never used of moral lapse, but into trouble or calamity. You will “lay wait against” him and “spoil” him (Pro_24:15) to no purpose. You may cause him many “falls” by your machinations, but he will rise superior to them all. “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand” (Psa_37:24. Comp. Psa_34:19). Whereas “the wicked,” among whom thou art thus numbering thyself (Pro_24:15), shall fall into mischief; or rather, shall not merely fall to rise again, but are overthrown by calamity (R.V.). By a single calamity, it may be (in contrast to the sevenfold recovery of the righteous) they are utterly crushed.

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.

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth,.... These words are spoken not to the wicked man, Pro 24:15; but to the just man, or Solomon's son, or the children of Wisdom; for by the "enemy" is meant such who are at enmity with the people of God, as the seed of the serpent, and those after the flesh, are: and when these "fall", saints should not "rejoice"; as when they fall into sin; for so to do would be to act as wicked "charity which rejoiceth not in iniquity", Co1 13:6, or rather when they fill into calamity and distress; for this is also the part which wicked men act towards the people of God, and should not be imitated in; see Oba 1:12. Joy may be expressed at the fall of the public enemies of God and his people, as was by the Israelites at the destruction of Pharaoh and his host, Exo 15:1; and as will be by the church at the destruction of antichrist, and which they are called upon to do, Rev 18:20; partly on account of their own deliverance and safety, and chiefly because of the glory of God, and of his justice displayed therein; see Psa 58:10; but as private revenge is not to be sought, nor acted, so joy at the calamity and ruin of a private enemy, or a man's own enemy, should not be expressed; but rather he is to be pitied and helped; see Pro 25:21; for to love an enemy, and show regard to him, is the doctrine both of the Old and of the New Testament;

and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth; even secret joy should not be indulged, gladness in the heart, though it does not appear in the countenance, and is not expressed in words; no, not at the least appearance of mischief, when he only stumbles and is ready to fall; and much less should there be exultation and rejoicings made in an open manner at the utter ruin of him.

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

Fall into smaller sins, (St. Gregory vi. in 2 Reg. xv. &c.) or into disgrace, as yippol (Haydock) rather intimates. (Vatable) (St. Augustine, City of God xi. 31.) --- Both significations agree with the context. See Job v. 27., and Matthew xviii. 21. (Calmet) --- He who is not subject to mortal sin, may still be exposed to many failings, and venial sins, which do not deprive him of the title of just; whereas the wicked consents to mortal sin, from which he riseth not so easily. Hence the wise man admonishes us not to lie in wait, or calumniously seek impiety in the house or soul of the just. (Worthington)

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).

Falleth; either,

1. Into sin. Or, rather,

2. Into calamities, of which he evidently speaks, both in the foregoing verse, and in the opposite and following branch of this verse, and so this word is used in the next verse, and Psa 37:24; Isa 24:20; Jer 25:27; Amo 8:14; Mic 7:8, &c. And so this is fitly alleged as a just reason to dissuade wicked men from their unjust attempts against righteous men, because they should not succeed in them; and although they might by God’s permission bring them into some distress for a thee, yet God would deliver them out of their hands, and they should be disappointed of their hopes.

Seven times, i.e. frequently.

Into mischief; into unavoidable and irrecoverable destruction, ofttimes in this life, and infallibly in the next.

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

A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again. The fall may be taken of sin or of calamity. Preachers, ancient and modern, have made much use of this text in the first sense, expatiating how a good man may fall into venial or more serious sins, but he never loses his love of God, and rises from his fall by repentance on every occasion. We also often find the words in die, "a day," added, which indeed occur in some manuscripts, but are not in the original. But the verb naphal seems not to be used in the sense of "falling" morally; and the meaning here is that the just man frequently falls into trouble, he is not secure against worldly cares and losses, or the insidious attacks of the man mentioned in Ver. 15; but he never loses his trust in God or offends by fretfulness and impatience, and always God"s providence watches over him and delivers him out of all his afflictions. "Seven times" means merely often, that number being used to express plurality or completeness (see on Pro_6:31 Pro_26:16; and Gen_4:24 Job_5:19 which is like our passage; and comp. Mat_18:22) The expectation which the sinner conceived when he saw the good man distressed, that he might seize the opportunity and use it to his own benefit, is woefully disappointed. In contrast with the recovery and reestablishment of the righteous, when the wicked suffer calamity there is no recuperation for them. The wicked shall fall into mischief; Revised Version better, are overthrown by calamity. (comp. Pro_14:32, and note there) Septuagint," But the ungodly shall be weak in evils.

The fall of a good man.

I IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A GOOD MAN TO FALL.

1. Here is a warning against presumption. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall". (1Co_10:12) No one is so perfect as to be impeccable. Peter, who little expected it, failed in the moment of trial.

2. He is a warning against wrong judgments. If a good man stumbles it is commonly thought that he proves himself to have been a hypocrite from the first. No notion could be more unwarrantable. It is possible that the former life was honest and true and up to its pretension, but that a sudden change for the worse has occurred through yielding to overpowering temptation. The citadel was honestly guarded; but in an unwary moment, when the custodian was sleeping, or careless, or weak, it fell before the assaults of the everwatchful foe. This may even be. repeated many times. We can scarcely think of a really good man lapsing utterly from the right way as many as seven times and as often returning to it. But some measure of sin is committed many times. There is not a Christian who does not fall into numerous sins.

II IF A GOOD MAN FALLS HE IS LIKELY TO RISE UP AGAIN. We need not now discuss the thorny doctrine of "final perseverance." Without retreating into the tangled thicket of a priori dogmatics, we may discover certain plain and practical. considerations which will encourage us to believe in the recovery of the lapsed.

1. The bent of a good mans life is towards goodness. He is a just man. Righteousness is characteristic of him. It is his habit. His fall is an event, his righteousness is his life. He is not the less guilty in his sin. He cannot shake it off and disown it, fortifying himself against the charge of it under the guise of his habitual righteousness. A long career of goodness is no excuse for a single wrong deed. Nevertheless, beneath and behind the sin into which the man has been surprised are the general tone and temper of his life. This will make his fall an agony. One look from Christ, and the shamefaced disciple goes out to weep bitterly. (Mat_26:75) The Christian who has been surprised in an hour of weakness will be in the greatest distress afterwards. He can have no rest till he is forgiven and restored. Hence there is a hope for him which we cannot cherish on behalf of the bad man who has had no experience of the better way and who has no inclination to follow it.

2. A good man may return. There is danger in despair. The miserable penitent fears that he may have committed the unpardonable sin, forgetting that his very grief is a proof that that dark eternity of guilt has not yet been reached. God is long-suffering and merciful. Seven times the poor man falls; seven times he is forgiven and restored by his compassionate Lord.

3. The grace of God assists recovery. Indeed, without this it were impossible. But with it who shall despair? On the other hand, alter a sicked man has indulged in sin he refuses to open his heart to Divine grace. "The one means by which he might climb up out of his deep ruin is rejected by him.

In conclusion, we may gather from a consideration of this subject that the first essential is the character of a man"s life, rather than that of isolated and perhaps exceptional deeds. God notes every deed, and not one can go unavenged. But the fundamental question is How does a man live in the main? is the set of his life towards goodness? does he habitually face the light or the darkness? Though with many stumbles and shameful bruises, is he, on the whole, going up, not down? If so, he is one of God"s sons.

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

Falleth - Into calamities, of which he evidently speaks both in the foregoing verse, and in the following branch of this verse. Fall - Frequently into irrecoverable destruction.

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

v. 16. for a just man falleth seven times, for misfortunes often seem to single him out, he has his full share of them, and riseth up again, endowed with new strength by the Lord; but the wicked shall fall into mischief, stumble into destruction, their fate being everlasting misfortune.

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