Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 13:21

Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repaid.

Pro 13:21

Evil pursueth sinners:but to the righteous good shall be repaid.

The practice of wickedness generally attended with great evil

The practice of righteousness is mens true interest, even in this present life. Wickedness is generally attended with great misery, even here as well as hereafter. Exceptions must, of course, be made in cases of persecution for truth and righteousness sake.

1. Consider mankind in general, under the notion of one universal community. Then the only thing which distinguishes men from wild beasts, with regard to any true happiness of life, is religion, or a sense of the just and right, and of the difference between moral good and evil. Reason, dissociated from moral obligation, only makes men more effectually destroy one another. Reason implying a sense of moral obligation is the secret of happiness in human life.

2. Take a less general view of mankind, in their more restrained political capacity, as formed into particular distinct nations and governments. In this view the only true and lasting happiness depends on the practice of righteousness and true virtue. In proportion as justice, and order, and truth, and fidelity prevail, the happiness of society is secured.

3. Consider men singly, every one in his mere private and personal capacity. Still the only possibility of lasting happiness is the practice of righteousness, charity, temperance, and universal virtue. Illustrate in relation to health; riches, honour, and reputation; inward peace and satisfaction in a mans own mind. Here virtue triumphs absolutely without control, and has no competitor. (S. Clarke.)

Sin and its punishment

The pursuit is a successful pursuit. The evil not only follows the transgressor, but it lays hold of him at last, and wrings out its penalties. Much sin is committed in spite of the remonstrance of conscience, and with the secret acknowledgments, on the part of the perpetrator, that he is doing wrong, and exposing himself to punishment. These men must have some specific with which they quiet their apprehensions, and procure for themselves an ease in the doing of what they know to be wrong. Direct attention to one form of deceit–the expectation of concealment, and therefore of impunity. It is unquestionably thus in regard of those offences of which human laws take cognisance. And much sin is committed with the secret hope that God will not observe it, or that He will not be extreme to take vengeance. It is false to suppose that any sin will pass without recompense just because Christianity is a system which provides in full measure for its forgiveness. Our redemption through Christ does not at all exempt from the temporal penalties of sin. It so makes future happiness dependent on present holiness that every pardoned sin may be punished with the loss of something glorious in eternity. It is a mistaken objection to Christianity that the arrangements of the Christian system secure a certain class of men against the being pursued and overtaken in their sins, because it takes for granted that forgiven sin must go wholly unpunished. Evil pursueth; that is, hunts the sinner with the greatest pertinacity, tracking him through the various scenes of life, and then, when the man fancies he is safe, suddenly darting upon him, and exacting all the punishment. Illustrate by the vices and follies of youth-time, or by the mere idling away of the early years of life. No sin can ever be committed which is not, in one way or another, punished by God. This is true of sins committed after conversion, as well as before conversion. Then let no man depart and think that he may sin yet one more sin and not eventually be a sufferer. (Henry Melvill, B. D.)

Destiny following character

That retributory justice tracks our footsteps, is a doctrine as old as the race. It grows out of the conscience, and is confirmed by the experience of mankind. The Nemesis of the heathen, which was a mysterious pursuer of character, was only a personification of the doctrine. Misery grows out of sin, and happiness out of goodness.

I. The law of moral causation shows this. Mans character is not the creation of a day or an hour, it is the result of past actions. When no change has taken place, like that of regeneration, the mans character to-day is the result of the whole of his past life, and will be, without such a renovation, the cause of the whole of his future. Character is a fruitful tree, it never ceases bearing, every branch is clustered, but the fruit is either misery or happiness, according to its own vital essence.

II. The constitution of moral mind shows this. Moral mind has at least two faculties.

1. One to recall the past. The law of memory compels us to re-live our past lives.

2. One to feel the past. The past does not flit before us as shadows on the wall, as images on the glass, making no impression; it falls on conscience, it stirs it into feeling. The soul is compelled to shudder at a wicked past, whilst a virtuous past fills it with a quiet and ineffable delight.

III. The teaching of holy writ shows this. The Bible assures us that God will render to every man according to his deeds (Jos 7:20-26; Rom 2:6-10). (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Evil; evil of punishment proportionable to their evil of sin, as appears from the next clause.

Pursueth; and sooner or later shall certainly overtake them, albeit they please themselves with hopes of impunity.

Sinners; obstinate and incorrigible sinners.

Good; Gods blessings and true happiness.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

21. (Compare Pr11:31).

good . . . repaidor,”He (God) will repay good.”

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Evil pursueth sinners,…. They pursue the evil of sin, and the evil of punishment pursues them, and at last overtakes them; their damnation, though it may seem to slumber and linger, it does not; it is upon the full speed after them, and will quickly seize upon them. Some understand this of the evil of sin in the conscience, which pursues the sinner, and fills him with terror;

but to the righteous good shall be repaid; or, “he shall recompense the righteous with good” u, or “good to the righteous”; that is, God shall do it; for all the good things they have done, from a right principle, and to a right end; which good works of theirs will pursue and follow them; and for all the ill things they have suffered for righteousness’s sake, a reward of grace, though not of debt, will be given them; as they have had their evil things here, they shall have their good things hereafter; as well as are often recompensed in this life, either in themselves or in their posterity, as follows.

u “et justis reddet bonum”, Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus; “justes remunerabit Deus bono”, Michaelis; “justis autem bonum rependet”, Tigurine version, Piscator, so Cocceius.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

21 Evil pursueth sinners,

And the righteous is repaid with good.

To of the punishment which follows after sinners at their heels, cf. Nah 1:8. Greek art gives wings to Nemesis in this sense. To translate 21b, with Lwenstein, “The pious, the good rewards them,” is untenable, for , the good ( e.g., Pro 11:27), never appears personified, only , goodness, Psa 23:6, according to which the lxx ( ) . Still less is meant personally, as the Venet. , which probably means: righteous conduct will a good one, viz., God, reward. .dr is an attribute of God, but never the name of God. So the verb , after the manner of verbs of educating and leading ( , , ), is connected with a double accusative. The Syr., Targum, and Jerome translate passively, and so also do we; for while we must think of God in the retribuet , yet the proverb does not name Him any more than at Pro 12:14, cf. Pro 10:24; it is designedly constructed, placing Him in the background, with vague generality: the righteous will one, will they, reward with good – this expression, with the most general personal subject, almost coincides with one altogether passive.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

      21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

      Here see, 1. How unavoidable the destruction of sinners is; the wrath of God pursues them, and all the terrors of that wrath: Evil pursues them closely wherever they go, as the avenger of blood pursued the manslayer, and they have no city of refuge to flee to; they attempt an escape, but in vain. Whom God pursues he is sure to overtake. They may prosper for a while and grow very secure, but their damnation slumbers not, though they do. 2. How indefeasible the happiness of the saints is; the God that cannot lie has engaged that to the righteous good shall be repaid. They shall be abundantly recompensed for all the good they have done, and all the ill they have suffered, in this world; so that, though many have been losers for their righteousness, they shall not be losers by it. Though the recompence do not come quickly, it will come in the day of payment, in the world of retribution; and it will be an abundant recompence.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Just Recompense

Verses 21-22 reaffirm the promise of just recompense for both righteous and wicked. Evil is not hidden or overlooked but pursues the offender until justly recompensed in God’s own time. Likewise the good of the righteous is rewarded fairly. The following references describe recompense of the wicked as sorrow, sudden desolation, dishonest gain taken away and given to those who pity the poor, and destruction. The righteous shall be strong, eat good, eat fruit of enemies, leave an inheritance to their children forever, Psa 32:10; Psa 54:5; Isa 47:11; Pro 11:31; Pro 13:13; Isa 3:10; Ezr 9:12; Psa 37:25; Pro 28:8; Ecc 2:26.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 13:21

PURSUIT AND REPAYMENT

I. Evil pursues sinners because sinners pursue evil. The huntsman who pursues the hare in the direction of a precipice is pursuing a course which, if continued, must be followed by evil. It is an evil thing for him to follow such a trifle at such a risk. There is evil before him in the form of the precipice, and evil will follow if he continues to pursue his present course. Should he try his strength against the law of gravitation by leaping over the precipice, he will find that that law will exact its penalty. There are but two things that will prevent evil from pursuing him, either he must desist from his present course or a great law of nature must be suspended. The first alternative rests with himself, the second does not. He will find that this battle is to the strong, and that this race is to the swift, even to the mighty law which holds together the material universe. So with sinners against the moral law. Evil be to him who evil thinks is a wish that is always fulfilled. It is a law in constant operation. The consequence of pursuing evil in the form of evil thinking is evil thinking, the consequence of evil feeling is evil feeling, the consequence of evil doing is evil doing, for it is the tendency of evil to repeat itself, and this in itself is a punishment. Peter speaks of sinners who cannot cease from sin (2Pe. 2:14). They have sinned until they have bound themselves in fetters of sinful habit. Evil, in this sense, pursues them, and will pursue them so long as they pursue it. Then there is, of course, the positive retribution, which both in time and beyond time visits pursuers of evil. Of this we have several times treated.

II. Good men are repaid with good because their characters are righteous. The law of repayment runs through nature. He who sows seed is repaid by a harvest. All her forcesrain, sunlight, heat and coldcombine to give back to the husbandman that which he has entrusted to her care. And she repays of the same kind, wheat for the sowing of wheat, thistles for the planting of thistles. She also repays with liberal interest. One head of thistledown scattered over a field will reproduce a hundred heads in a few months. One grain of corn will produce an ear of thirty or forty grains. The law in the kingdom of nature is also the law of the kingdom of grace. Evil sown, as we have just seen under another metaphor, necessitates a reaping of evil. Good sown ensures a reaping of good. And grace is not behind nature in liberal repayment. He who sows handfuls shall reap armfuls. He that goes forth with the seed basket returns with sheaves (Psa. 126:6). The one corn of wheat bears much fruit (Joh. 12:24). This repayment begins in time, and extends beyond it. Righteousness as well as sin is its own present reward, and is the present first fruits. But the righteous man must wait for the resurrection of the just for the abundant harvest.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

Evil is rapacious in its gains. Each inch evil holds. It never lets back any advance. It is versatile to tempt, and ruins with many instruments, while the good, however, have just the opposite lot. They gain by every advance. Each act that is holy in their lives is rewarded by better acts and higher holiness on through their whole probation,nay, eternally! The pit is bottomless. But evil never ceases to hound sinners and make them worse.Miller.

The representation here is very striking. Evil pursueth sinners. It follows them every step. It keeps pace with the progress of time. Each moment it comes nearer. Silent and unperceived it tracks them through their whole course. Insensibly it gains upon them; and at lastit may be suddenly and when least expectedit seizes and destroys them.Wardlaw.

Not the smallest good, even a cup of cold water to a disciple (Mat. 10:42), or honour shown to his servants (Mat. 10:41; 1Ki. 17:16-23) shall lose its reward (Heb. 6:10). And if a single act is thus remembered much more a course, a fight held out to the end (2Ti. 4:7-8). How manifestly is this the constitution of grace; that when perfect obedience can claim no recompense (Luk. 17:10), such unworthy, such defiled work should be so honoured with an infinite overwhelming acceptance.Bridges.

To be out of the hands of evil is not to be free from it; for it still pursueth sinners, and it ceaseth not until it be gotten to the place where they are. For, as St. Augustine saith, that God doth not forthwith avenge sinners is His patience, not His negligence. Wherefore it is to be feared lest by how much He stays the longer that we may repent, by so much He will punish us the more, if that we will not amend.Jermin.

CaiusAgrippa having suffered imprisonment for wishing him emperorwhen he came afterwards to the empire, the first thing he did was to prefer Agrippa, and give him a chain of gold as heavy as the chain of iron that was on him in prison. Those that lose anything for God He seals them a bill of exchange of a double return.Trapp.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(21) Evil pursueth sinners.The snares, fire, and brimstone, of Psa. 11:6; while the good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luk. 6:38), awaits the righteous.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

21. Evil pursueth sinners The natural effects of their own wickedness follow them, as a hunter does his prey. Comp. Gen 4:7; Num 32:23; Psa 32:10; Psa 140:11; Act 28:4. Good shall be repaid The good they do shall be returned to them, oft-times a hundred fold. Compare Pro 10:25; Pro 11:3; Pro 11:5; Pro 11:15.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

v. 21. Evil pursueth sinners, as their well-merited punishment; but to the righteous good shall be repaid, that is, God rewards him in mercy for his efforts on the way of sanctification.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed. A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment. He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.

Lord, impress all thy ponderous truths upon my soul, and give me to search for thee in all thy word, as for hidden treasure.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Pro 13:21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

Ver. 21. Evil pursueth sinners. ] Hard at heels. Flagitium et flagellum, ut acus et filum. Sin and punishment are linked together with chains of adamant. Of sin we may say as Isidore doth of the serpent, Tot dolores, quot colores; so many colours, so many dolours. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” Rom 6:23 The same in effect with this sentence of Solomon.

But to the righteous good shall be repaid. ] Or, He, that is, God, shall repay good. Now he is a liberal paymaster, and all his retributions are more than bountiful. Never did any yet do or suffer aught for God, that complained of a hard bargain. God will recompense your losses, – saith that thrice noble Lord Brook, a who lost his precious life in the recent unhappy wars at Litchfield, – as the king of Poland did his noble servant Zelislaus, having lost his hand in his wars, he sent him a golden hand. Caligula – Agrippa having suffered imprisomnent for wishing him emperor – when he came afterwards to the empire, the first thing he did was to prefer Agrippa, and gave him a chain of gold as heavy as the chain of iron that was upon him in prison. Those that lose anything for God, he seals them a bill of exchange of a double return; nay, a hundredfold here, and eternal life hereafter.

a Lord Brook’s Discourse of Episcop.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)