Proverbs 17:11 - Exposition

An evil man seeketh only rebellion. So the Greek and Latin Versions; but, as Nowack intimates, a bad man seeks many other things which do not come directly in the category of rebellion; and it is better to take meri, "rebellion," as the subject, regarding it as put for the concrete, thus: "A rebellious man striveth only for what is evil." From the point of view of an Eastern potentate, this is true enough. Absolute government looks upon any rising against constituted authority, any movement in the masses, as necessarily evil, and to be repressed with a high hand. Hence the succeeding clause. Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. The "cruel messenger" ( Proverbs 16:14 ) is the executioner of the king's wrath. He is called "cruel" because his errand is deadly, and he is pitiless in its performance. This seems to be the sense intended. The LXX . gives a different notion, derived from the ambiguous term malak, like the Greek ἄγγελος : "The Lord will send forth a pitiless angel against him." The verse then becomes a statement concerning the retribution inflicted by God on obstinate sinners, such as Pharaoh and the Egyptians. These are delivered over to "the tormentors" ( Matthew 18:34 ), the angels that execute the wrath of God, as in Psalms 78:49 and Revelation 8:6 , etc. As all sin is rebellion against God, it is natural to read into the passage a religious meaning, and for homiletical purposes it is legitimate to do so. But the writer's intention is doubtless as explained above, though his language may be divinely directed to afford a further application.