Proverbs 11 Commentary
Death Ends The Wicked Man’s Hope
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KEY THOUGHT: The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life [Proverbs 11:30a NKJV]
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Proverbs 11 NKJV
The Folly of Wickedness
11 Dishonest[a] scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a [b]just weight is His delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will [c]direct his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.
7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of the unjust perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
And it comes to the wicked instead.
9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,
But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He who [d]is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor,
But a man of understanding holds his peace.
13 A talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.
14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
15 He who is surety[e] for a stranger will suffer,
But one who hates [f]being surety is secure.
16 A gracious woman retains honor,
But ruthless men retain riches.
17 The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
18 The wicked man does deceptive work,
But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
19 As righteousness leads to life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their ways are His delight.
21 Though they join [g]forces, the wicked will not go unpunished;
But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.
22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks [h]discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
26 The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
27 He who earnestly seeks good [i]finds favor,
But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.
28 He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind,
And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who [j]wins souls is wise.
31 If the righteous will be [k]recompensed on the earth,
How much more the ungodly and the sinner.
Footnotes
a. Proverbs 11:1 deceptive
b. Proverbs 11:1 Lit. perfect stone
c. Proverbs 11:5 Or make smooth or straight
d. Proverbs 11:12 Lit. lacks heart
e. Proverbs 11:15 guaranty
f. Proverbs 11:15 those pledging guaranty, lit. those who strike hands
g. Proverbs 11:21 Lit. hand to hand
h. Proverbs 11:22 taste
i. Proverbs 11:27 Lit. seeks
j. Proverbs 11:30 Lit. takes, in the sense of brings, cf. 1 Sam. 16:11
k. Proverbs 11:31 rewarded
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 11 Commentary
When the wicked die, that’s it – the story is over, end of hope. Verse 7. It summarizes the message of the chapter.
What verse 7 hasn’t said is even more important. The saint has hope beyond the grave. No saint eats like it’s their last. No saint worries about a loss like that’s all there is to life. The hope of blessed eternity in the presence of God keeps the saint levelheaded.
The absence of God in an individual creates a hole. Men and women seek to fill that hole with greediness, entertainment, drugs, power, authority, and a host of other countless efforts. But it is all vanity, a chase after wind.
This chapter discounts such efforts by showing us the end product of vanity projects. Dishonest scales, pride, unfaithfulness, trust in wealth, gossip, and misplaced hope, the LORD God detests. He will punish evil.
The reader is warned. “Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished.”
There is no hope for the wicked beyond the grave. The reason is simple. Grace period will have expired.
Rather than simply a collection of principles working and achieving desired ends, these teachings are strongly backed by the LORD Himself. The wicked will be punished by the LORD God and not exactly by the principles defined here.
The unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. Righteousness delivers from death. Unless you see the Teacher behind these principles, you will likely miss the point. Noise-making in class is not punished by the rule itself, but by the headmaster or the teacher. We are encouraged to see God behind the rules.
So we want to be righteous because of the LORD God, not because of the principles in themselves.
By themselves, the principles are powerless. They can even mislead someone. Men may even count themselves blessed because of what they see as a blessed life. Never mind the injustice and the greediness behind their wealth!
The scripture advertises death as an appropriate punishment for wickedness. And the LORD promises life as a reward for righteousness. Since the righteous also die, you must look to God’s definition of death and understand things differently.
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