Proverbs28chapter 28

Proverbs 28:1

The wicked flee when no man pursueth: The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion, states the chapter's key contrast in its most vivid form, guilt inventing its own pursuers while a clear conscience needs no army behind it. The commentators read the fleeing wicked against a mind unable to rest and the lion figure as courage without bravado, a settled confidence rather than aggression.

Proverbs 28:2-4

For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof reads a nation's instability as the fruit of its own sin, where a man of understanding and knowledge can prolong the state that transgression keeps unsettled. A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food, the harshest picture in the chapter, since rain should water a field and this rain destroys it. They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them, closes the group on the principle the earlier verses assumed, that a nation's law and its leadership rise or fall together.

Proverbs 28:5-7

Evil men understand not judgment: Evil men understand not judgment, but they that seek the Lord understand all things, ties moral perception to relationship with God rather than native intelligence, a claim the bench reads as the fear of the Lord in different words. Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich, ranks integrity above wealth outright. Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son, but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father, applies the same ranking to a household, where a son's company decides whose honor he carries.

Proverbs 28:8-9

He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance: He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor, states a reversal the book returns to often, that wealth taken by exploitation ends up serving the very poor it was taken from. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination, pairs disobedience with worship and finds the second worthless without the first, since a closed ear makes an open mouth in prayer meaningless.

Proverbs 28:10-12

Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way: Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit, states the same trap-for-the-trapper principle the Psalms use of the wicked, while the upright shall have good things in possession promises the opposite outcome. The rich man is wise in his own conceit, but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out, sets a poor man's real discernment above a rich man's self-estimate. When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden, closes the cluster on the public mood a nation's leadership sets, a line the chapter echoes again near its end.

Proverbs 28:13-14

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy, is the collection's clearest gospel-shaped sentence, and the bench reads it beside 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us. Confession alone is not the whole verse, since forsaking stands beside confessing, mercy answering a change of direction and not words only. Happy is the man that feareth alway, but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief, closes the pair on the same alertness that keeps a man from needing to hide anything in the first place.

Proverbs 28:15-17

As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear: As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the poor people, gives the chapter's harshest figure for bad government, danger from the very one meant to protect. The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor, but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days, ties a ruler's greed directly to his people's suffering and his own shortened rule. A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit, let no man stay him, closes the cluster with a warning the bench reads as a call for the community not to shelter a murderer from justice.

Proverbs 28:18-19

Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved, but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once, states the chapter's antithesis in its plainest form, one path secure and the other sudden in its collapse. He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread, but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough, applies the same principle to daily labor, ordinary diligence set against the company that wastes a man's time and substance.

Proverbs 28:20-22

A faithful man shall abound with blessings: A faithful man shall abound with blessings, but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent, opens the chapter's clearest money doctrine, since haste toward wealth commonly means a shortcut through honesty. To have respect of persons is not good, for for a piece of bread that man will transgress, names favoritism as a temptation cheap enough to be bought for very little. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him, repeats the haste warning of verse 20 and adds the evil eye, which the bench reads as a grudging, envious spirit rather than literal sight.

Proverbs 28:23-28

He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour: He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue opens the chapter's close by ranking honest correction above comfortable flattery. Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression, is the companion of a destroyer, naming a self-justifying theft the book treats as a family crime rather than a small dishonesty. He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife, but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat, and he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool, but whoso walketh wisely shall be delivered, run the same contrast between self-reliance and trust that has carried the chapter throughout. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse, and when the wicked rise men hide themselves, but when they perish the righteous increase, close the chapter on generosity and on the public mood a nation's rulers set, the last line answering verse 12 as a deliberate frame.