Proverbs 20:26 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 20:26

See here, 1. What is the business of magistrates. They are to be a terror to evil-doers. They must scatter the wicked, who are linked in confederacies to assist and embolden one another in doing mischief; and there is no doing this but by bringing the wheel over them, that is, putting the laws in execution against them, crushing their power and quashing their projects. Severity must sometimes be used to rid the country of those that are openly vicious and mischievous, debauched and debauching.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 20:26

A wise king scattereth the wicked ,.... Or "fans them away" F9 מזרה "ventilat", Junius & Tremellius, Schultens. ; separates them from his good counsellors, courtiers, and subjects; scatters them from his presence and court, and breaks their counsels and confederacies one with another; he discovers, discountenances, and discourages them; See Gill on Proverbs 20:8 ; and bringeth the wheel over them ; alluding to the custom of the eastern nations turning a cart wheel over... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 20:26

Bringeth the wheel over them - He threshes them in his anger, as the wheel does the grain on the threshing-floor. Every one knows that grain was separated from its husks, in Palestine, by the feet of the oxen trampling among the sheaves, or bringing a rough-shod wheel over them. Asiatic kings often threshed their people, to bring out their property; but this is not what is intended here. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 20:24-30

The truth of life in diverse aspects We may divide the matter as follows. I. DIVINE PROVIDENCE . ( Proverbs 20:24 .) It is needful, for human wisdom is shortsighted, and human direction inadequate. It is a gracious fact, and, if acknowledged, brings blessing to the trustful mind and heart. Each man has a life vocation. God appoints it, and will reveal the means for the attainment of it. We cannot enter the kingdom except through the guidance of Christ. II. HUMAN ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 20:26

A wise king scattereth the wicked ( Proverbs 20:8 ). The verb is zarah, which means "to winnow, or sift." The king separates the wicked and the good, as the winnowing fan or shovel divides the chaff from the wheat. The same metaphor is used of Christ ( Matthew 3:12 ), "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (comp. Jeremiah 15:7 ). Septuagint, "A winnower ( λικμήτωρ ... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 20:26

Proverbs 20:26. A wise king Who seriously minds his duty, and his true interest; scattereth the wicked Breaks their companies and confederacies, and forces them to flee several ways for their own safety; or drives them from his presence, and from the society of good men, as the chaff is separated from the corn, by the husbandmen, and driven away by the wind; as the word מזרה , here used, commonly signifies; and to which the next clause hath some reference. And bringeth the wheel over... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 20:1-30

Honesty (20:1-30)Wise people will not become drunkards, will not needlessly anger those in authority, will avoid quarrelling and will work to support themselves (20:1-4). They will also have the ability to draw out the deepest feelings and intentions of those with whom they deal (5). Many people boast of their loyalty but few practise it. To live honestly is the best way to guarantee a good future for one’s children (6-7). A king learns by experience to discern between right and wrong in cases... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Proverbs 20:26

scattereth = winnoweth out. wicked = lawless. Hebrew. rasha'. the wheel: i.e. of the threshing instrument. Compare Isaiah 28:27 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Proverbs 20:26

"A wise king winnoweth the wicked, And bringeth the threshing-wheel over them."Commentators usually try to soften the words here, suggesting that, "The words may be figurative."[27] James Moffatt accepted that theory in his rendition: "A wise king scatters wicked men; he drives hard over them."[28] However, the mention of threshing instruments here brings to mind Amos 1:3, where it is said that God brought judgment upon Damascus, "Because they threshed Gilead with threshing-instruments of... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Proverbs 20:26

Proverbs 20:26. A wise king scattereth the wicked— The plain meaning seems to be, that a good king separates the bad from the good by a due execution of his laws; which is like the winnowing the corn after the chaff is separated from it, by drawing the wheel over it. See Isa 28:27-28 and Fuller's Miscellanies, book 6: chap. 12. read more