Proverbs 28:17

Pro 28:17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of [any] person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.

Ver. 17. A man that doth violence unto the blood.] The Hebrew word Adam, here rendered man, hath one letter in the original less than the rest, {Hebrew Text Note} to show that a blood shedder is not worthy to be called man. {a}

Shall flee to the pit, let no man stay him,] i.e., Let him die without mercy; let no man mediate for him, lest he pay down, as Ahab did, life for life, people for people, {1Ki 20:42} lest he draw upon the land guilt of blood, {Num 35:33-34} and hinder the man slayer from repentance to salvation never to be repented of. To blame then are the Papists that open sanctuaries to such; and if a cardinal put his red hat upon the head of a murderer going to execution, he is delivered from death. See Deu 19:13. {See Trapp on "Deu 19:13"}

{a} Buxtorf.

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 28:17. A man that doeth violence, &c. — That sheds any man’s blood, or takes away his life by any unjust proceedings; shall flee to the pit — Shall speedily be destroyed, being pursued by divine vengeance, the horrors of a guilty conscience, and the avengers of blood; let no man stay him — None should desire or endeavour to save him from his deserved punishment.

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

28:17 tormented conscience: See 1 Sam 25:31; Rom 2:15; 13:5; cp. Heb 10:22. • Don’t protect him! Murder is such a serious offense that a fine could not replace the death penalty (see Num 35:32).

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

None shall be able to deliver him.

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

This agrees with that ancient law, Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed (Gen 9:6), and proclaims, 1. The doom of the shedder of blood. He that has committed murder, though he flees for his life, shall be continually haunted with terrors, shall himself flee to the pit, betray himself, and torment himself, like Cain, who, when he had killed his brother, became a fugitive and a vagabond, and trembled continually. 2. The duty of the avenger of blood, whether the magistrate or the next of kin, or whoever are concerned in making inquisition for blood, let them be close and vigorous in the prosecution, and let it not be bought off. Those that acquit the murderer, or do any thing to help him off, come in sharers in the guilt of blood; nor can the land be purged from blood but by the blood of him that shed it, Num 35:33.

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

doeth violence . . . blood, &c.--or, that is oppressed by the blood of life (Gen 9:6), which he has taken.

to the pit--the grave or destruction (Pro 1:12; Job 33:18-24; Psa 143:7).

stay him--sustain or deliver him.

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 17. That doeth violence to the blood] He who either slays the innocent, or procures his destruction, may flee to hide himself: but let none give him protection. The law demands his life, because he is a murderer; and let none deprive justice of its claim. Murder is the most horrid crime in the sight of God and man; it scarcely ever goes unpunished, and is universally execrated.

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

(17) A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person.—Rather, that is burdened with his blood, has wilfully murdered any one.

Shall flee to the pit.—Fulfilling the curse of Gen_9:6.

Let no man stay him—i.e., attempt to rescue him from the punishment he has deserved.

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

17. doeth violence to] Rather, is laden with, R.V. See Gen_9:6.

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.

A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person,.... That sheds the blood of any in a violent manner; that lays violent hands upon a club, and takes away his life, contrary to the law in Gen 9:6. Or, "that is pressed because of the blood of any person" (q); pressed in his own mind; filled with horror, and tortured in his conscience, for the innocent blood he has shed: the letter "daleth" in the word "Adam" is lesser than usual; and Vitringa, on Isa 34:6; observes, that it signifies a man red with blood, oppressed in his conscience, and depressed by God, which this minute letter is a symbol of; and thinks it applicable to Edom or Rome: or it signifies one pressed, pursued, and dose followed by the avenger of blood;

shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him; support or help him. When such a murderer flees, and is pursued, and unawares falls into a pit, or is like to do so, let no man warn him of it, or help him out of it; or if he flees to a pit to hide himself, let no man hold him or detain him there, or suffer him to continue in such a lurking place, but discover him or pluck him out; or, if he is a fugitive and a vagabond all his days, as Cain, the murderer of his brother, was, till he comes to the pit of the grave, let no man yield him any support or sustenance.

(q) "pressus propter sanguinem animae", Amama, Cartwright; so R. Joseph Kimchi in D. Kimchii Sepher Shorash rad.

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

The case of willful murder, not the lesser crime of manslaughter for which the cities of refuge were appointed. One, with that guilt on his soul, is simply hasting on to his own destruction. Those who see him must simply stand aloof, and let God’s judgments fulfill themselves.

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

A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person, that sheddeth any man’s blood, or taketh away his life unjustly,

shall flee to the pit; shall speedily be destroyed, being pursued by Divine vengeance, and the horrors of a guilty conscience, and the avengers of blood.

Let no man stay him: so it is a prohibition that no man should endeavour to save the life of a wilful murderer, either by intercession, or by offering satisfaction, or any other way; of which see Gen 9:6; Exo 21:14; Num 35:31. Or, as the ancient and many other interpreters render it, no man shall stay him; none shall desire or endeavour to save him from his deserved punishment; he shall die without pity, being an object of public hatred.

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

17. Violence to the blood — The first part of this verse is better read: A man burdened with the blood of a person shall flee to the pit — the figure of death.

Let no man stay him — Muenscher reads: “That he may not be taken.” So Conant, substantially: “He will rush on to self-destruction, rather than fall into the hands of the avenger of blood.” Our Authorized Version, however, is justifiable. He is hasting to his doom. “Let murder have its due.” Comp. Gen_9:6; Exo_21:14.

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

A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit. This should be, a man oppressed, (Isa_38:14) burdened, with the blood of anyone. The wilful murderer, with his guilt upon his soul, flies in vain from remorse; his crime pursues him even to the grave. For inadvertent manslaughter the cities of refuge offered an asylum, but for deliberate murder there was no safe refuge, either from the stings of conscience or from the avenger of blood, but death. The homicide, like Cain, (Gen_4:14) must be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth. "Pit" (bor), some take to mean any hiding place, "a cave, or well;" but it is very commonly found in the sense of sepulchre, (Psa_28:1 Isa_14:19, etc.) and is so explained here by most commentators. Let no man stay him. We had in Pro_24:11, etc., an injunction to save human life; but the case was quite different from this of wilful murder. Here it is directed that no one attempt to save him from the punishment which he has incurred, or to comfort him under the remorse which he suffers. Let him be left alone to meet the fate which he has merited. The LXX gives a different idea to the gnome, "He who becomes bail for a man charged with murder shall be banished and shall not be in safety." They add a verse which we shall meet again, almost in the same words, (Pro_29:17, Pro_29:18) "Chasten thy son, and he will love thee, and will give honour to thy soul; he shall not obey a sinful nation.

Vers. 17-22. Judgments on transgressors.

I THE VIOLENT MAN. (Ver. 17) His doom, here as elsewhere, is viewed as sudden; he hastes to Hades lives not out half his days. The truth is general, reflecting the intuition of the moral order. And in accordance with that order it is that pity will be turned away from him that shows no pity. This is no argument for capital punishment, but it is an argument for such a treatment of criminals as will best deter from crime.

II THE INSECURITY OF EVIL WAYS. (Ver. 18) Integrity is alone safe; and in one or other of his crooked ways (such may be one meaning of the text) the sinner will ultimately fall. The dangerous feat is tried once too often. Our interest is attracted to "the dangerous edge of things," and we are astonished that men can stand upon it so often without falling. We do not see the result of the last and fatal attempt; or, seeing it, we do not surmise the previous successful attempts to defy the law of things. Scripture is right; but we do not know enough of events absolutely to verify its truths.

III POVERTY AS A JUDGMENT. (Ver. 19) Here, again, we have a general truth an abstract from the great broad field of life"s facts. On the whole, there is no secret of abundance but industry; nor of poverty but idleness and indulgence in pleasure and amusement as a pursuit. Repose and pleasure are the illusions from which the stern voice of God, speaking through daily experience, is ever rousing us. Hardly any disease of body or of mind, any social evil, is there which may not be traced to self-indulgence and inertia.

IV HASTE TO BE RICH. (Ver. 20) This temper is contrasted with that of the faithful man. There is a different scale of value in the two cases. The good man values things by the moral standard, the covetous man only by the standard of gold. The true way of looking at wealth is as an available means to all ends of health, wisdom, benevolence. These alone are rational ends; but they may be lost sight of in the passionate pursuit of the means. It was a thought deeply impressed on the ancient world that over-eagerness for riches must involve dishonesty. "No one quickly grows rich, being at the same time a just man," says Menander. "For he who desires to become rich desires to become rich quickly. But what reverence for the laws? what fear or shame is there ever in the covetous man who hastes to be rich?" says Juvenal. To lessen our desires rather than to increase our means is the true wisdom of life to study to give account of our little rather than to make our little more.

V RESPECT OF PERSONS IN JUDGMENT. (Vers. 21, 22) The vice springs from some mean source from fear, covetousness, or obsequiousness. Cato used to say of Caelius the tribune, that he might be hired for a piece of bread to speak or hold his peace. To prefer interest to the truth, this is the fiery temptation in one form or other of us all. And the keeping back of a part of the truth may be as injurious to others as the utterance of direct falsehood. Any meanness harboured in the soul exposes to constant danger. Timidity may fall into worse sins than those it seeks to avoid. And in other ways extremes meet. While the haster to be rich casts an evil, envious eye on the property of others, he is blind to the menace of poverty from behind. In any case, poverty of soul follows from the constant drain of thought and energy towards things that "perish in the using." How much need have all to beware of those passions which are the "thorns" that spring up and choke the good word of God in the heart! J.

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

Violence - That sheddeth any man's blood. Shall flee - Shall speedily be destroyed. Shall slay - None should desire or endeavour to save him from his deserved punishment.

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

17 A man burdened with the guilt of blood upon his soul

Fleeth to the pit; let no one detain him.

Luther translates: "A man that doeth violence to the blood of any one," as if he had read the word עשׁק. Lwenstein persuades himself that עשׁק may mean "having oppressed," and for this refers to לבוּשׁ, having clothed, in the Mishna נשׁוּי, רבוּב, Lat. coenatus, juratus; but none of all these cases are of the same nature, for always the conduct designated is interpreted as a suffering of that which is done, e.g., the drawing on, as a being clothed; the riding, as a being ridden, etc. Of עשׁק, in the sense of the oppression of another, there is no such part. pass. as throws the action as a condition back upon the subject. This is valid also against Aben Ezra, who supposes that עשׁק means oppressing after the forms אנוּר, שׁדוּד, שׁכוּן, for of שׁכוּן, settled = dwelling, that which has just been said is true; that אנוּר is equivalent to אגר, cf. regarding it under Pro 30:1, and that שׁדוּד, Psa 137:8, is equivalent to שׁדד, is not true. Kimchi adds, under the name of his father (Joseph Kimchi), also שׁחוּט, Jer 9:7 = שׁוחט; but that "slaughtered" can be equivalent to slaughtering is impossible. Some MSS have the word עשׂק, which is not inadmissible, but not in the sense of "accused" (Lwenstein), but: persecuted, exposed to war; for עשׁק signifies to treat hostilely, and post-bibl. generally to aspire after or pursue anything, e.g., עסוק בּדברי תורה, R. עשׂ (whence Piel contrectare, cf. Isa 23:2, according to which עשׁק appears to be an intensifying of this עשׂה). However, there is no ground for regarding עשׁק

(Note: Bttcher supposes much rather עשּׁק = מעשּׁק; also, Pro 25:11, דבּר = מדבּר; but that does not follow from the defectiva scriptio, nor from anything else.)

as not original, nor in the sense of "hard pressed;" for it is not used of avenging persecution, but: inwardly pressed, for Isa 38:14 עשׁקה also signifies the anguish of a guilty conscience. Whoever is inwardly bowed down by the blood of a man whom he has murdered, betakes himself to a ceaseless flight to escape the avenger of blood, the punishment of his guilt, and his own inward torment; he flees and finds no rest, till at last the grave (בור according to the Eastern, i.e., the Babylonian, mode of writing בּר) receives him, and death accomplishes the only possible propitiation of the murderer. The exhortation, "let no one detain him," does not mean that one should not lay hold on the fugitive; but, since תּמך בּ does not mean merely to hold fast, but to hold right, that one should not afford him any support, any refuge, any covering or security against the vengeance which pursues him; that one should not rescue him from the arm of justice, and thereby invade and disturb the public administration of justice, which rests on moral foundations; on the other side, the Book of Prov; Pro 24:11., has uttered its exhortation to save a human life whenever it is possible to do so. The proverb lying before us cannot thus mean anything else than that no one should give to the murderer, as such, any assistance; that no one should save him clandestinely, and thereby make himself a partaker of his sin. Grace cannot come into the place of justice till justice has been fully recognised. Human sympathy, human forbearance, under the false title of grace, do not stand in contrast to this justice. We must, however, render אל־יתמכו־בו not directly as an admonition against that which is immoral; it may also be a declaration of that which is impossible: only let no one support him, let no one seek to deliver him from the unrest which drives him from place to place. This is, however, in vain; he is unceasingly driven about to fulfil his lot. But the translation: nemine eum sustinente (Fleischer), is inadmissible; a mere declaration of a fact without any subjective colouring is never אל reven si g seq. fut.

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.)

The first law against the murderer must not be broken down. Like the law of the Sabbath, it was in force from the beginning. ’It was enacted and published before him, out of whose loins the whole world after the flood was to be repeopled; to shew that it was not meant for a national or temporary ordinance, but for an universal and perpetual law.’†1 The reason given for the command confirms its universal obligation. To destroy "the image of God" must be high treason against God himself. (Gen 9:6 .) Again did God declare his mind in the Levitical law. No satisfaction must be taken for the murderer. Another reason is given — "Blood defileth the land," and only the murderer’s blood can cleanse it. (Num 35:33 .) Nay — even the Heathen judged this awful transgressor to be under the divine vengeance. (Act 28:4 .) The death therefore of the murderer is an imperative obligation. It is miscalled philanthropy, that protests against all capital punishments. Shall man pretend to be more merciful than God? Pity is misplaced here. The murderer therefore of his brother is his own murderer. He shall flee to the pit, hurried thither by his own horror of conscience,†2 by the sword of justice,†3 or by the certain judgment of God.†4 Let no man stay him. Let God’s law take its course.

Yet we must not cast off his soul. Visiting the condemned cell is a special exercise of mercy. While we bow to the stern justice of the great law-giver, joyous indeed it is to bring to the sinner under the sentence of the law, the free forgiveness of the Gospel; not as annulling his sin, but shewing the over-abounding of grace beyond the abounding of sin. (Rom 5:20 .)

Footnotes:

†1 Bp. Sanderson’s Sermon on Pro 24:10-12 .

†2 Deu 19:13.

†3 1Ki 2:32 . Exo 21:14 . 2Ki 11:15 .

†4 1Ki 21:19 ; 1Ki 22:38 . 2Ki 9:33-37 .

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

he has shed someone's blood

Here "blood" represents a person's life. To "shed blood" means to murder someone. AT: "he has killed someone" or "he has murdered someone" (See: Metonymy)

fugitive

a person who is running away to avoid being captured

until death

"until he dies." This means for the rest of his life. AT: "all of his life" (See: Idiom)

Whoever walks with integrity will be kept safe

This can be expressed in active form. AT: "God will keep safe anyone who walks with integrity" (See: Active or Passive)

Whoever

"Anyone who"

walks with integrity

This represents a person living a life of integrity. The abstract noun "integrity" can be expressed as an adverb. AT: "walks honestly" or "lives honestly" (See: Metaphor and Abstract Nouns)

the one whose way is crooked

A dishonest person is spoken of as if he walks on crooked or twisted paths. AT: "the one who does not live honestly" (See: Metaphor)

will suddenly fall

What will happen to a dishonest person is spoken of as if he suddenly fell down. AT: "will suddenly be ruined" or "will suddenly perish" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

guilt

die

walk

integrity

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

A man who is guilty of robbing one’s lifeblood (Upon whom the crime of robbing blood lies.) He is one who causes his fellow to sin, and his soul is lost because of him.

will flee to the pit Until his dying day, he will flee for aid, that it should be expiated for him.

but no one will support him from Heaven to give him the possibility to repent, so that he will not be in Paradise while his pupil is in Gehinnom. In this manner, it is expounded upon in Tractate Yoma (87a).

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.