Proverbs 17:15
in Proverbs 17Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.
KJV
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
People need to be warned against an unjust acquittal, no less than against unjust condemnation. The word “justifieth” has its forensic sense, “to declare righteous,” to acquit.
This site's exposition
To start a quarrel is
on Proverbs 17:14-16
To start a quarrel is "to release a flood," a small breach that widens past control, so the dispute is abandoned "before it breaks out." Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous are named together as detestable to the LORD, one offence in two directions.
This site's exposition
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous
Albert Barnes notes that people need warning against an unjust acquittal as much as against an unjust condemnation. The word for acquitting is a courtroom term, to declare a man righteous. Both verdicts are detestable to the LORD.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The beginning of strife is like letting out water Whoever commences a quarrel is like one who opens a hole in the stone walls of a water canal, and the water goes out through it, and the hole becomes progressively wider; so does the quarrel constantly escalate.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Why is there a price in the fool’s hand to buy wisdom To learn the Torah.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַצְדִּ֣יק | matzdik | [one who] justifies | H6663 → | |
| רָ֭שָׁע | rasho' | [the] wicked | H7563 → | 263 times |
| וּמַרְשִׁ֣יעַ | umarshia' | and [one who] condemns as guilty | H7561 → | |
| צַדִּ֑יק | tzadik | [the] righteous | H6662 → | 206 times |
| תּוֹעֲבַ֥ת | toavat | [are] [the] abomination of | H8441 → | 117 times |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃ | sheneihem | both of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
מַצְדִּ֣יק[one who] justifies
matzdikH6663 →
רָ֭שָׁע[the] wicked
rasho'H7563 →263 times
וּמַרְשִׁ֣יעַand [one who] condemns as guilty
umarshia'H7561 →
צַדִּ֑יק[the] righteous
tzadikH6662 →206 times
תּוֹעֲבַ֥ת[are] [the] abomination of
toavatH8441 →117 times
יְ֝הוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃both of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 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
Exodus 23:7Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:25
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
- Deuteronomy 27:25
‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Ephesians 4:25
Through
Proverbs 18:5Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Psalms 82:2
“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
- Proverbs 28:21
To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
- Leviticus 19:15
Through
Amos 6:12“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
it leads to
- Amos 5:7
There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
- Amos 5:7
Through
Isaiah 5:23who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:2
to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.
- Isaiah 10:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).