Proverbs 24:15
in Proverbs 24Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous; Destroy not his resting-place:
KJV
Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
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This verse in Proverbs 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The teaching of the proverb warns men not to attack or plot against the righteous. They will lose their labor, “Though the just man fall (not into sin, but into calamities), yet he riseth up.” The point of the teaching is not the liability of good men to err, but God’s providential care over them (compare the margin reference). “Seven times” is a certain for an uncertain number (compare Job 5:19). In contrast with this is the fate of the evildoers, who fall utterly even in a single distress.
This site's exposition
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man
on Proverbs 24:15-16
"Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous" addresses the aggressor directly. The reason looks past any ambush: "though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times."
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Do not lie in wait, nor seek impiety in the house of the just, etc. Do not seek any occasion by which you might slander a just man. For if he falls, he quickly removes his foot, so that he may be free from the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The dwelling of the righteous - צדיק tsaddik, the man who is walking unblameably in all the testimonies of God; who is rendering to every man his due.
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 |
| תֶּאֱרֹ֣ב | teero | you lie in wait | H693 → | 41 times |
| רָ֭שָׁע | rasho' | wicked [person] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| לִנְוֵ֣ה | linveh | to [the] habitation of | H5116 → | 35 times |
| צַדִּ֑יק | tzadik | a righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּשַׁדֵּ֥ד | teshaded | you devastate | H7703 → | 57 times |
| רִבְצוֹ׃ | rivtzo | resting place his | H7258 → |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֶּאֱרֹ֣בyou lie in wait
teeroH693 →41 times
רָ֭שָׁעwicked [person]
rasho'H7563 →263 times
לִנְוֵ֣הto [the] habitation of
linvehH5116 →35 times
צַדִּ֑יקa righteous [person]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּשַׁדֵּ֥דyou devastate
teshadedH7703 →57 times
רִבְצוֹ׃resting place his
rivtzoH7258 →
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
Isaiah 32:18Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.
it leads to
- Zechariah 2:5
For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
- Hosea 2:18–23
On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish…
- Jeremiah 33:16
In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
- Ezekiel 34:25–26
I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
- Zechariah 2:5
Through
Jeremiah 11:19For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from…
it leads to
- Isaiah 53:7–8
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not…
- Jeremiah 20:10
For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that…
- Psalms 83:4
saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
- Isaiah 53:7–8
Through
Acts 9:24but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:32
In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me.
- 2 Corinthians 11:32
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; 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.