Proverbs 22:8
in Proverbs 22He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity; And the rod of his wrath shall fail.
KJV
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
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This verse in Proverbs 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The rich ruleth over the poor
on Proverbs 22:7-9
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender, states a plain economic fact rather than a complaint, debt itself a form of servitude regardless of how willingly it was entered. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity extends the chapter's harvest imagery to wrongdoing generally, the rod of his anger, the power a wicked man wields against others, finally failing him. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed closes the group with the opposite pattern, generosity toward the poor answered in kind rather than the exploitation verse 7 described.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"He who sows iniquity," etc. It is certain that he who teaches iniquity either by word or example, will receive vengeance; but because it follows, "And the rod of his anger will be finished," he seems to be speaking particularly of that iniquity which is …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that soweth iniquity (u) shall reap vanity,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
He that soweth iniquity - The crop must be according to the seed. If a man sow thistle seed, is it likely he shall reap wheat? If he sow to the flesh, shall he not of the flesh reap destruction?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The rod of his anger - That with which he smites others (compare Isa 14:6). The King James Version describes the final impotence of the wrath of the wicked.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זוֹרֵ֣עַ | zorea' | [one who] sows | H2232 → | |
| עַ֭וְלָה | ʾavlah | unrighteousness | H5766 → | |
| יִקְצָר | yiktzor- | he will reap | H7114 → | |
| אָ֑וֶן | ʾaven | trouble | H205 → | 77 times |
| וְשֵׁ֖בֶט | veshevet | and [the] rod of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| עֶבְרָת֣וֹ | evrato | fury his | H5678 → | 34 times |
| יִכְלֶֽה׃ | yikhleh | it will end | H3615 → | 208 times |
זוֹרֵ֣עַ[one who] sows
zorea'H2232 →
עַ֭וְלָהunrighteousness
ʾavlahH5766 →
יִקְצָרhe will reap
yiktzor-H7114 →
אָ֑וֶןtrouble
ʾavenH205 →77 times
וְשֵׁ֖בֶטand [the] rod of
veshevetH7626 →190 times
עֶבְרָת֣וֹfury his
evratoH5678 →34 times
יִכְלֶֽה׃it will end
yikhlehH3615 →208 times
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
Job 4:8As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:7–8
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 8:7
For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 4:18
“Your ways and deeds have brought this upon you. This is your punishment; how bitter it is, because it pierces to the heart!”
- Galatians 6:7–8
Through
Psalms 125:3For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:5–6
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
- Psalms 89:22
No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will…
- Revelation 2:10
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
- Isaiah 14:5–6
Through
Hosea 10:13You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,
it leads to
- Job 4:8
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Job 4:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.