Proverbs 24:17-18

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 24:17-18

Here, 1. The pleasure we are apt to take in the troubles of an enemy is forbidden us. If any have done us an ill turn, or if we bear them ill-will only because they stand in our light or in our way, when any damage comes to them (suppose they fall), or any danger (suppose they stumble), our corrupt hearts are too apt to conceive a secret delight and satisfaction in it?Aha! so would we have it; they are entangled; the wilderness has shut them in?or, as Tyrus said concerning Jerusalem (Ezek.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 24:17

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth ,.... These words are spoken not to the wicked man, Proverbs 24:15 ; but to the just man, or Solomon's son, or the children of Wisdom; for by the "enemy" is meant such who are at enmity with the people of God, as the seed of the serpent, and those after the flesh, are: and when these "fall", saints should not "rejoice"; as when they fall into sin; for so to do would be to act as wicked "charity which rejoiceth not in iniquity", 1 Corinthians 13:6 ,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 24:18

Lest the Lord see it , and it displease him ,.... Who sees all things, not only external actions, but the heart, and the inward motions of it; and though men may hide the pleasure they feel at the misery of an enemy from others, they cannot hide it from the Lord; nor is this said by way of doubt, but as a certain thing; and which the Lord not barely sees, but takes notice of, and to such a degree as to resent it, and show his displeasure at it by taking the following step; and he turn... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 24:17

Rejoice 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. For a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 24:18

And he turn away his wrath from him - Wrath is here taken for the effect of wrath, punishment; and the meaning must be as paraphrased above - lest he take the punishment from him, and inflict it upon thee. And in this way Coverdale understood it: "Lest the Lorde be angry, and turn his wrath from him unto thee." Or we may understand it thus: Lest the Lord inflict on thee a similar punishment; for if thou get into his spirit, rejoicing in the calamities of another, thou deservest punishment. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:15-18

Violence and shameful joy defeated I. THE ATTITUDE OF THE MAN OF FRAUD AND VIOLENCE DEPICTED . ( Proverbs 24:15 .) He is like the prowling wild beast, seeking whom he may devour. God the Creator has not armed us with tooth or tusk or other means of defence, like the wild beasts which are formed for making war on others. We are strongly furnished for defence, not for attack. Ferocity is distinctly an unnatural vice in us. II. HIS ACTIVITY IS DEVASTATING .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:17

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour" was a Mosaic precept (Le Proverbs 19:18 ); the addition, "and hate thine enemy," was a Pharisaic gloss, arising from a misconception concerning the extermination of the Canaanites, which, indeed, had a special cause and purpose, and was not a precedent for the treatment of all aliens (see Proverbs 25:21 , Proverbs 25:22 ). When he stumbleth; rather, when he is overthrown . The maxim refers to private enemies.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:17-18

A warning against vindictiveness, nearly approaching the great Christian maxim, "Love your enemies" ( Matthew 5:44 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:17-29

The ignobler and the nobler spirit (See homily on Proverbs 20:22 .) There can be no question at all, for the testimony of human history is everywhere and at all times the same, as to— I. OUR DISPOSITION UNDER SIN , IN VIEW OF OUR ENEMIES . These two passages indicate it. It is both passive and active. 1 . A disposition to rejoice at their discomfiture; to exult in the secret places of the soul when we hear of their failure, of their defeat, or even of their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 24:18

Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him. This malignant pleasure at others' misfortunes (which Aristotle, 'Eth. Nic.,' 2.7. 15, calls ἐπιχαιρεκακία ) is a sin in the eyes of God, and calls for punishment. And he turn away his wrath from him; and, as is implied, direct it upon thee. But it seems a mean motive to adduce, if the maxim is taken baldly to mean, "Do not rejoice at your enemy's calamity, lest God relieve him from the evil:" for true charity would wish for such a result.... read more

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