Proverbs 11:15 - Exposition

He that is surety for a stranger; or, for another (see Proverbs 6:1 ). Shall smart for it. "Evil shall fall on him evilly who is surety." He that hateth suretyship; guaranteed, as the word implies, by the striking of hands in public ( Proverbs 17:18 ). Vulgate, "who is cautious of snares," especially of the insidious dangers that lurk in suretyship. Is sure; is at rest and has nothing to fear. There is no paronomasia in the Hebrew. The play on "suretyship" and "sure" in the Authorized Version is either accidental or was introduced with the idea of giving point to the sentence. The Septuagint translates differently, "A wicked man doeth evil when he mixes with the righteous; he hateth the sound of safety ( ἦχον ἀσφαλείας )." This perhaps means that the fraudulent creditor deceives the good man who has stood security for him; and henceforward the good man cannot bear to hear immunity and safety spoken of (see note on Proverbs 20:16 ).