Proverbs 3:31
in Proverbs 3Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Envy thou not the man of violence, And choose none of his ways.
KJV
Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseEnvy thou not the oppressor - O how bewitching is power! Every man desires it; and yet all hate tyrants. But query, if all had power, would not the major part be tyrants?
This site's exposition
Envy thou not the oppressor
on Proverbs 3:31-32
Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways warns against the oldest temptation wisdom literature names, that the violent and grasping man appears to prosper and so appears worth imitating. For the froward is abomination to the Lord answers the appearance directly, whatever the oppressor's present state, his standing before God is already settled. But his secret is with the righteous closes the verse on the opposite fellowship, the Lord's own intimacy given not to the successful but to the upright, a contrast the bench reads as the chapter's answer to envy before envy has fully formed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Envy thou not the oppressor,....
5 Trust in the L ORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. We are here taught to live a life of communion with God; and without controversy great is this mystery of godliness, and of great consequence to us, and, as is here shown, will be of unspeakable advantage.
Those are in the right who are of God's mind; and, if we be of his mind, we shall see, whatever pretence one sinner may have to envy another, that saints are so happy themselves that they have no reason at all to envy any sinner, though his condition be ever so prosperous. Sinners are hated of God, but saints are beloved,
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּ֭קַנֵּא | tekane' | you be jealous | H7065 → | 34 times |
| בְּאִ֣ישׁ | beish | of a person of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| חָמָ֑ס | chamas | violence | H2555 → | 60 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּ֝בְחַ֗ר | tivchar | you choose | H977 → | 171 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | <in> all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דְּרָכָֽיו׃ | derakhav | ways his | H1870 → | 707 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּ֭קַנֵּאyou be jealous
tekane'H7065 →34 times
בְּאִ֣ישׁof a person of
beishH376 →1663 times
חָמָ֑סviolence
chamasH2555 →60 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תִּ֝בְחַ֗רyou choose
tivcharH977 →171 times
בְּכָל־<in> all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
דְּרָכָֽיו׃ways his
derakhavH1870 →707 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
Psalms 37:1Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 23:17
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 24:19
Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.
- Proverbs 24:1
Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
- Psalms 37:7
Through
Galatians 5:21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- Romans 13:13
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
- Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
- Ephesians 5:5–6
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.