Proverbs 24:17
in Proverbs 24Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown;
KJV
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 24
Commentary
4 notes on this verseRejoice not when thine enemy falleth, (into this mischief), and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth - When he meets with any thing that injures him; for God will not have thee to avenge thyself, or feel any disposition contrary to love; for if thou do, the Lord will be angry, and may turn away his wrath from him, and pour it out on thee. This I believe to be the true sense of these verses: but we must return to the sixteenth, as that has been most sinfully misrepresented.
This site's exposition
Do not gloat when your enemy falls
on Proverbs 24:17-18
"Do not gloat when your enemy falls" corrects an instinct the previous verses might almost invite. The reason surprises: "the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him." Gloating can move God to relent toward the very man being gloated over.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, etc. Earlier he forbade laying snares for the righteous; now, to perfect himself in all things, he also forbids insulting enemies when they sin or incur some adversity, lest perchance, if by the mercy of the Lord they …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּנְפֹ֣ל | binfol | when falls | H5307 → | 435 times |
| אֽ֭וֹיִבְךָ | ʾoyveikha | enemy your | H341 → | |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּשְׂמָ֑ח | tismach | you rejoice | H8055 → | 155 times |
| וּ֝בִכָּשְׁל֗וֹ | uvikashelo | and when stumbles he | H3782 → | 62 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יָגֵ֥ל | yagel | it rejoice | H1523 → | 45 times |
| לִבֶּֽךָ׃ | libekha | heart your | H3820 → | 595 times |
בִּנְפֹ֣לwhen falls
binfolH5307 →435 times
אֽ֭וֹיִבְךָenemy your
ʾoyveikhaH341 →
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּשְׂמָ֑חyou rejoice
tismachH8055 →155 times
וּ֝בִכָּשְׁל֗וֹand when stumbles he
uvikasheloH3782 →62 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יָגֵ֥לit rejoice
yagelH1523 →45 times
לִבֶּֽךָ׃heart your
libekhaH3820 →595 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
Job 31:29If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—
it leads to
- Proverbs 24:17–18
Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 17:5
He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 24:17–18
Through
Proverbs 17:5He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Job 31:29
If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—
- 1 John 3:17
If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- Obadiah 1:11–13
On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.
- Proverbs 14:31
Through
Obadiah 1:12But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 35:15
As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then…
- Micah 4:11
But now many nations have assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
- Ezekiel 35:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.