Proverbs 24:16
in Proverbs 24For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
KJV
For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 24
Commentary
15 notes on this verseBut for those small offences in which, as it is written, "the righteous falls seven times and will rise again" penitence will never cease.
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."
This site's exposition
a righteous man may fall seven times
Readers divide over the seven falls. Matthew Henry and John Cassian take them as sins of weakness from which the righteous man gets up by repentance. Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes read them as calamities, and Barnes takes seven as a round number set against the wicked man's fatal stumble.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The words "falls seven times" are employed to express every kind of tribulation, whereby one is cast down in the sight of people; and the words "rises up again" signify that one profits from all these tribulations.
"The just falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked shall be weakened in evils." When evils befall the wicked, they are weakened by them. When evils befall the righteous, "the Lord strengthens all that are falling" … "and lifts up all those that have been cast down": all, that is, who belong to him, for "God resists the proud."
A Christian is said to rise again in two different senses: when he perseveres in God's gifts of justification after he has been set free by grace from the death of the vices in this world, as the most wise Solomon says: "A just man …
With God's help we both can and should be without serious offenses, but no just person ever was or ever will be able to live without small sins. We are continuously troubled and tormented by these as by flies buzzing around.… Very often sins creep …
The text, "For a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again," means that he will not perish, however often he falls. There is here no question of falling into sins but of afflictions leading to a lower life.
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church4 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
In the same manner, there are four acts of justice: to do good, to flee evil, to beware of prosperity, and to withstand misfortune. Hence the just is warned not to fall. If he does fall, he is advised to rise again. For "the just …
Let no one, therefore, believe, as Pelagius teaches, that he can live without sins and debts, when he sees the apostles praying earnestly for their own transgressions, as the Lord teaches. And there is also written elsewhere, "The righteous falls seven times and rises again." …
Although the righteous may offend perhaps through the frailty of the flesh or through ignorance, nevertheless he does not cease to be righteous, because just as there is daily and unavoidable offense of this kind, so also there is the daily remedy of prayers and …
For the just man falls seven times, etc. But how is he called just, who is remembered to fall, that is, to sin? unless he speaks of the slight and daily sins, without which none of the just could exist in this life? For certainly …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The just man falls, sometimes falls seven times perhaps, into sin, sins of infirmity, through the surprise of temptation; but he rises again by repentance, finds mercy with God, and regains his peace. (2.) The wicked man, who expected to see his ruin and to help it forward, is undone. He falls into mischief; his sins and his troubles are his utter destruction.
For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For a just man - צדיק tsaddik, the righteous, the same person mentioned above. Falleth seven times - Gets very often into distresses through his resting place being spoiled by the wicked man, the robber, the spoiler of the desert, lying in wait for this purpose, Pro 24:15. And riseth up again - Though God permit the hand of violence sometimes to spoil his tent, temptations to assail his mind, and afflictions to press down his body, he constantly emerges; and every time he passes through the furnace, he comes out brighter and more refined.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שֶׁ֨בַע׀ | sheva' | seven [times] | H7651 → | 394 times |
| יִפּ֣וֹל | yipol | he will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| צַדִּ֣יק | tzadik | a righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| וָקָ֑ם | vakam | and he will rise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וּ֝רְשָׁעִ֗ים | ureshaim | and wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יִכָּשְׁל֥וּ | yikashelu | they will stumble | H3782 → | 62 times |
| בְרָעָֽה׃ | veraah | in trouble | H7451 → | 662 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שֶׁ֨בַע׀seven [times]
sheva'H7651 →394 times
יִפּ֣וֹלhe will fall
yipolH5307 →435 times
צַדִּ֣יקa righteous [person]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
וָקָ֑םand he will rise
vakamH6965 →628 times
וּ֝רְשָׁעִ֗יםand wicked [people]
ureshaimH7563 →263 times
יִכָּשְׁל֥וּthey will stumble
yikasheluH3782 →62 times
בְרָעָֽה׃in trouble
veraahH7451 →662 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 34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:17
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
- 1 Peter 4:12–13
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- Psalms 34:17
Through
Job 5:19He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
- 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…
- Psalms 34:19
Through
Psalms 37:24Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
it leads to
- Psalms 145:14
The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
- Psalms 145:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 119:162; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 145:13; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 11.31; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, 1 John 1:10; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, James 3:2; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 18; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 234:4; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 19:9; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 20:12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.