Proverbs 21:15
in Proverbs 21Justice executed is a joy to the righteous, but a terror to the workers of iniquity.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It is joy to the righteous to do justice; But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
KJV
It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe commandments of God contain nothing burdensome, but rather they are sweet. "It is joy to the just to do judgment," that is, justice. But we see that to an infected palate sweet food seems bitter; similarly, to a man of perverse will the commandments …
This site's exposition
A gift in secret soothes anger
on Proverbs 21:14-16
"A gift in secret soothes anger, and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath," an observation of a common tactic that stops short of commending it. "Justice executed is a joy to the righteous, but a terror to the workers of iniquity," one act producing opposite feelings on either side.
This site's exposition
Justice executed is a joy to the righteous
Bonaventure reads the verse as the sweetness of the commands of God to the righteous, for whom justice is a joy. To a sick palate sweet food tastes bitter, he writes, and so a perverse will feels justice. The workers of iniquity meet it with terror.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
It is a joy to the just to do judgment, etc. The just man rejoices when he labors with good works, because he hopes to be rewarded with eternal good for these. But the reprobate, while they do evil things which they know God has …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is joy to the, last to do judgment,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
A man who strays from the way of understanding From 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. 4 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׂמְחָ֣ה | simchah | [is] a joy | H8057 → | 94 times |
| לַ֭צַּדִּיק | latzadik | to the righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| עֲשׂ֣וֹת | asot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֑ט | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וּ֝מְחִתָּ֗ה | umechitah | and terror | H4288 → | 11 times |
| לְפֹ֣עֲלֵי | lefoalei | to [those who] do | H6466 → | 57 times |
| אָֽוֶן׃ | ʾaven | <of> wickedness | H205 → | 77 times |
שִׂמְחָ֣ה[is] a joy
simchahH8057 →94 times
לַ֭צַּדִּיקto the righteous [person]
latzadikH6662 →206 times
עֲשׂ֣וֹתto do
asotH6213 →2628 times
מִשְׁפָּ֑טjustice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
וּ֝מְחִתָּ֗הand terror
umechitahH4288 →11 times
לְפֹ֣עֲלֵיto [those who] do
lefoaleiH6466 →57 times
אָֽוֶן׃<of> wickedness
ʾavenH205 →77 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
Matthew 7:23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
it leads to
- Matthew 25:41
Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Psalms 6:8
Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
- Luke 13:25
After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where…
- Luke 13:27
And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’
- Matthew 25:12
But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
- Matthew 25:41
Through
Ecclesiastes 3:12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
it leads to
- Psalms 37:3
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Ecclesiastes 3:22
I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- Psalms 37:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.