Proverbs 17:11
in Proverbs 17An evil man seeks only rebellion; a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
An evil man seeketh only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
KJV
An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThe wicked always seeks conflict, etc. A cruel angel is an unclean spirit who is sent by the Lord against sinners to afflict them in the present; just as he afflicted the Egyptians to whom he sent the wrath of his indignation, indignation, and wrath, …
This site's exposition
A reproof entereth more
on Proverbs 17:10-13
A single reproof sinks deeper into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool, the chapter's plain measure of how differently correction lands on a willing and an unwilling heart. The evil man's rebellion earns a cruel messenger in return, and meeting a bear robbed of her whelps is named the safer encounter than a fool bent on his folly, a comparison the bench reads as deliberate exaggeration for the sake of the warning. Rewarding good with evil is answered in kind, evil never departing from that house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
An evil man seeketh only rebellion,.... For he seeks nothing but what is evil; and all sin is rebellion against God, a contempt of his laws, and a transgression of them; a trampling upon his legislative power and authority; an act of hostility against him, and a casting off allegiance to him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The proverb expresses the reverence of the East for the supreme authority of the king. The “cruel messenger” is probably the king’s officer despatched to subdue and punish. The Septuagint renders it: “The Lord will send a pitiless Angel.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He who is only rebellious seeks evil One whose every word is rebelliousness and stubbornness constantly seeks evil.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
May a bereaving bear encounter a person It is better for a person that a bereaving bear encounter him rather than one of the foolish heathens, who entice him to idolatry.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַךְ־ | ʾakh- | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| מְרִ֥י | meri | rebellion | H4805 → | |
| יְבַקֶּשׁ־ | yevakesh- | he seeks | H1245 → | 225 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | an evil [person] | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וּמַלְאָ֥ךְ | umalakh | and a messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| אַ֝כְזָרִ֗י | ʾakhzari | cruel | H394 → | 8 times |
| יְשֻׁלַּח־ | yeshulach- | he will be sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| בּֽוֹ׃ | bo | in him |
אַךְ־only
ʾakh-H389 →161 times
מְרִ֥יrebellion
meriH4805 →
יְבַקֶּשׁ־he seeks
yevakesh-H1245 →225 times
רָ֑עan evil [person]
ra'H7451 →662 times
וּמַלְאָ֥ךְand a messenger
umalakhH4397 →213 times
אַ֝כְזָרִ֗יcruel
ʾakhzariH394 →8 times
יְשֻׁלַּח־he will be sent
yeshulach-H7971 →845 times
בּֽוֹ׃in him
bo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
it leads to
- Luke 19:14
But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- Psalms 21:8–9
Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
- Luke 21:22
For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
- Numbers 16:30–35
But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will…
- Matthew 22:7
The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
- Luke 19:14
Through
Matthew 22:7The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
it leads to
- Luke 19:27
And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
- Luke 19:27
Through
1 Kings 2:46Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 1:1
Now Solomon son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.
- 1 Kings 2:12
So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
- 2 Chronicles 1:1
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.