Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Proverbs 28:17

in Proverbs 28

A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

A man that is laden with the blood of any person Shall flee unto the pit; let no man stay him.

KJV

A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.

⋯

This verse in Proverbs 28

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person,.... That sheds the blood of any in a violent manner; that lays violent hands upon a club, and takes away his life, contrary to the law in Gen 9:

This site's exposition

Like a roaring lion or a charging bear

on Proverbs 28:15-17

"Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people" gives the chapter's harshest figure for bad government. Verse 16 ties a ruler's greed to his people's suffering. Verse 17 warns that a man burdened by bloodguilt flees into the Pit.

This site's exposition

A man burdened by bloodguilt

Barnes limits the case to willful murder, a man with bloodguilt on his soul. Such a man hastens to his own destruction in the Pit. Barnes says those who see him must stand aloof and let God's judgment run its course.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Proverbs · Written before 735.

proposed

"A man who slanders blood," etc. Whether the land of the field or the land of the body, whoever cultivates it shall be satisfied; one with grain, the other with virtues. Whoever despises both shall be filled with poverty.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

The case of willful murder, not the lesser crime of manslaughter for which the cities of refuge were appointed. One, with that guilt on his soul, is simply hasting on to his own destruction. Those who see him must simply stand aloof, and let God’s judgments fulfill themselves.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

doeth violence . . . blood, &c.--or, that is oppressed by the blood of life (Ge 9:6), which he has taken. to the pit--the grave or destruction (Pr 1:12;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

That doeth violence to the blood - He who either slays the innocent, or procures his destruction, may flee to hide himself: but let none give him protection. The law demands his life, because he is a murderer; and let none deprive justice of its claim. Murder is the most horrid crime in the sight of God and man; it scarcely ever goes unpunished, and is universally execrated.

The words behind it

10 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • אָ֭דָםa person

    ʾadomH120 →551 times

  • עָשֻׁ֣קoppressed

    ʾashukH6231 →36 times

  • בְּדַם־by [the] blood of

    bedam-H1818 →360 times

  • נָפֶשׁa life

    nafeshH5315 →754 times

  • עַד־to

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • בּ֥וֹר[the] pit

    borH953 →66 times

  • יָ֝נ֗וּסhe will flee

    yanusH5127 →

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408 →724 times

  • יִתְמְכוּ־people support

    yitmekhu-H8551 →21 times

  • בֽוֹ׃<in> him

    vo

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.9 worksProverbs 1:18But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.6 worksExodus 21:14But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.4 works1 Kings 21:19Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”4 worksJeremiah 41:15But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and went to the Ammonites.4 works2 Kings 9:26‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Kings 21:23And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’3 worksActs 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”3 worksMatthew 27:4–5“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”3 works2 Chronicles 24:21–25But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.3 worksNumbers 35:14–34Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge.3 worksPsalms 140:10May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits, never to rise again.3 works1 Kings 2:6So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.3 works2 Samuel 3:30(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)3 worksDeuteronomy 21:1If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,3 worksGenesis 42:21Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”3 worksHabakkuk 2:17For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of animals will terrify you, because of your bloodshed against men and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.3 worksMatthew 2:16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Genesis 9:6

    Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 24:17

      And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.

    • Matthew 26:52

      “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

    • Revelation 13:10

      “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and…

    • Exodus 21:12–14

      Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.

    • Numbers 35:33

      Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the…

  • Through

    Exodus 21:14

    But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 2:28–34

      When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.

  • Through

    1 Kings 21:19

    Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 22:38

      And the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up Ahab’s blood, according to the word that the LORD had spoken.

  • Through

    1 Kings 21:23

    And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 9:10

      And on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.

Where this verse is studied

About Proverbs

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 28 →

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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.

Read on in Proverbs 28 →